After 16 disciplines in 14 days, heptathlon’s all-conquering Kate O’Connor earned her maiden European Athletics Championship gold to add to her Commonwealth Games gold just two weeks ago.
In Glasgow, it was her first senior outdoor gold in the heptathlon. In front of a large and loud Irish contingent in Birmingham on Saturday (15 August) evening, she secured the 2026 double of Commonwealth and continental titles.
“Surreal, crazy, amazing, exciting,” she exclaimed afterwards.
“Crossing the line and then realising that you’re going to have the gold medal wrapped around your neck is just incredible, insane.”
O’Connor finished with a national record total of 6751 points, 38 above Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Emma Oosterwegel, and 87 points clear of third-place Sofie Dokter. Team GB’s four-time Olympian Katarina Johnson-Thompson finished well behind after an injury-hit season.
It has now been 735 days since O’Connor last left a competition without a medal around her neck, when she finished 14th in her Olympic debut in Paris 2024.
Since then, it has been a different story for the 25-year-old, now a world silver medallist from Tokyo 2025, and into history for a golden summer in 2026.
“I feel like a different person,” O’Connor said.
“Every competition has been different, and I’ve been learning so much with each one. I think that every experience has made me a better athlete. I think that that’s why I was able to navigate these last two days so well, because of the experience that I’ve had from every other championship. I think I’m probably in my prime, which hopefully will last a long time. I have a lot of plans and expectations for myself.
“I know I can be better, and I will be better. Hopefully, at the Olympics I’ll have a perfect heptathlon. That would be an ideal time, wouldn’t it?”