Kate O’Connor’s heptathlon at the World Athletics Championship has started with brilliant personal bests in both the 100m hurdles and high jump as she sits in a tie for third after two events.

O’Connor, who has enjoyed a stellar season so far after claiming bronze at the European Championships and silver at the World Indoors before setting a new national record at the World University Games to claim gold outdoors, posted a time of 13.44 in finishing third in heat one of the hurdles and was tied fourth in the high jump leaving her on 2113 points overall and level with Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson.

GB’s Jade O’Dowda, sister of Republic of Ireland international Callum, won O’Connor’s 100m hurdles heat.

O’Connor’s time in that heat gave her 1059 points as she sat alongside Finland’s Saga Vanninen and GB’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson in eighth after the first event.

The Irish athlete’s fine start then continued in the high jump discipline.

O’Connor, who set a PB of 1.84m in March this year, bypassed the 1.65m height and went straight for 1.68, clearing it unconvincingly at her first attempt.

A much smoother jump saw her clear 1.71m at her first attempt with 1.74m providing no trouble either.

Now in a fine jumping rhythm, O’Connor cleared 1.77m with ease with thoughts of a new PB coming into focus. The bar was cleared comfortably at 1.80m too as other competitors around her started to struggle.

Next up was 1.83m, and although the bar wobbled, the scream of delight from O’Connor as she landed demonstrated the importance of the successful clearance.

Only five athletes remained to attempt the 1.86m height, and after Anna Hall and Sofie Dokter failed, O’Connor also had her first failure of the evening – Nafi Thiam and Johnson-Thompson also unable to clear the bar.

Hall, who holds a 1.95m PB in the high jump, and Dokter did clear it on their second jump, but O’Connor, Thiam and Johnson-Thompson all knocked the bar off.

“That’s a big, big wow!”

A second PB of the morning for Kate O’Connor, this time in the high jump.

💻 Watch: https://t.co/8r55LhgRBk pic.twitter.com/fRSdO6EYFG

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 19, 2025

It meant O’Connor had one jump left to achieve a new high jump PB, and she managed to do so with a superb attempt.

Thiam and Johnson-Thompson also survived on their final jump meaning all five moved onto 1.89m.

From there, Belgium’s Thiam, a high jump specialist who has cleared 2.02m previously, was the only athlete to succeed in her first attempt with Hall getting there on her third.

O’Connor, Dokter and Johnson-Thompson were all eliminated at that stage with Hall, first overall, and Thiam, second overall, failing at the next height.

Next up is the shot put at 12.30pm (Irish time) and the heats of the 200m at 1.38pm.

Others Irish competitors in action on day seven of the championships are Brian Fay, Andrew Coscoran and Darragh McElhinney, who line up in the heats of the men’s 5000m from 12pm.

Watch the World Athletics Championships with coverage every day this week on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player