{"id":594597,"date":"2026-08-16T01:48:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T01:48:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/594597\/"},"modified":"2026-08-16T01:48:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T01:48:07","slug":"2026-european-athletics-championships-kate-oconnor-wins-gold-for-ireland-for-major-summer-double-i-feel-like-a-different-person","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/594597\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 European Athletics Championships: Kate O\u2019Connor wins gold for Ireland for major summer double: \u201cI feel like a different person\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After 16 disciplines in 14 days, heptathlon\u2019s all-conquering <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/athletes\/kate-o-connor\" data-tracking-payload=\"{&quot;implementation_provider&quot;:&quot;sed&quot;,&quot;content_geography&quot;:&quot;AF,AX,AL,DZ,AS,AD,AO,AI,AQ,AG,AR,AM,AW,AU,AT,AZ,BS,BH,BD,BB,BY,BE,BZ,BJ,BM,BT,BO,BQ,BA,BW,BV,BR,IO,UM,VG,VI,BN,BG,BF,BI,KH,CM,CA,CV,KY,CF,TD,CL,CN,CX,CC,CO,KM,CG,CD,CK,CR,HR,CU,CW,CY,CZ,DK,DJ,DM,DO,EC,EG,SV,GQ,ER,EE,ET,FK,FO,FJ,FI,FR,GF,PF,TF,GA,GM,GE,DE,GH,GI,GR,GL,GD,GP,GU,GT,GG,GN,GW,GY,HT,HM,VA,HN,HK,HU,IS,IN,ID,CI,IR,IQ,IE,IM,IL,IT,JM,JP,JE,JO,KZ,KE,KI,KW,KG,LA,LV,LB,LS,LR,LY,LI,LT,LU,MO,MK,MG,MW,MY,MV,ML,MT,MH,MQ,MR,MU,YT,MX,FM,MD,MC,MN,ME,MS,MA,MZ,MM,NA,NR,NP,NL,NC,NZ,NI,NE,NG,NU,NF,KP,MP,NO,OM,PK,PW,PS,PA,PG,PY,PE,PH,PN,PL,PT,PR,QA,RE,RO,RU,RW,BL,SH,KN,LC,MF,PM,VC,WS,SM,ST,SA,SN,RS,SC,SL,SG,SX,SK,SI,SB,SO,ZA,GS,KR,SS,ES,LK,SD,SR,SJ,SZ,SE,CH,SY,TW,TJ,TZ,TH,TL,TG,TK,TO,TT,TN,TR,TM,TC,TV,UG,UA,AE,GB,US,UY,UZ,VU,VE,VN,WF,EH,YE,ZM,ZW,XK&quot;,&quot;content_id&quot;:&quot;df4af4b7-e68e-4868-89ae-48fe06d75e7b&quot;,&quot;content_release_date_local_utc&quot;:&quot;2026-08-15T23:04:27.639Z&quot;,&quot;content_title&quot;:&quot;2026 European Athletics Championships: Kate O\u2019Connor wins gold for Ireland for major summer double: \u201cI feel like a different person\u201d&quot;,&quot;tag&quot;:&quot;[\\&quot;discipline-athletics\\&quot;,\\&quot;2026-wa-athletics-european-championships-birmingham\\&quot;,\\&quot;gender-female\\&quot;,\\&quot;juliet-nottingham\\&quot;,\\&quot;newsclip\\&quot;,\\&quot;apple-news-all\\&quot;,\\&quot;ireland\\&quot;,\\&quot;has-flourish-graphics\\&quot;]&quot;,&quot;module_type&quot;:&quot;TextBlock&quot;,&quot;module_title&quot;:&quot;2026 European Athletics Championships: Kate O\u2019Connor wins gold for Ireland for major summer double: \u201cI feel like a different person\u201d&quot;,&quot;section_level_1&quot;:&quot;news&quot;,&quot;section_level_2&quot;:&quot;2026-european-athletics-championships-kate-oconnor-gold-ireland-double-different-person&quot;,&quot;discipline&quot;:&quot;discipline-athletics&quot;,&quot;odf_id&quot;:&quot;ATH&quot;,&quot;module_instance&quot;:&quot;Inline&quot;,&quot;module_id&quot;:null}\" data-tracking=\"click\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kate O\u2019Connor<\/a> earned her maiden <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/news\/athletics-2026-european-athletics-championships-birmingham-schedule-medallists-results\" data-tracking-payload=\"{&quot;implementation_provider&quot;:&quot;sed&quot;,&quot;content_geography&quot;:&quot;AF,AX,AL,DZ,AS,AD,AO,AI,AQ,AG,AR,AM,AW,AU,AT,AZ,BS,BH,BD,BB,BY,BE,BZ,BJ,BM,BT,BO,BQ,BA,BW,BV,BR,IO,UM,VG,VI,BN,BG,BF,BI,KH,CM,CA,CV,KY,CF,TD,CL,CN,CX,CC,CO,KM,CG,CD,CK,CR,HR,CU,CW,CY,CZ,DK,DJ,DM,DO,EC,EG,SV,GQ,ER,EE,ET,FK,FO,FJ,FI,FR,GF,PF,TF,GA,GM,GE,DE,GH,GI,GR,GL,GD,GP,GU,GT,GG,GN,GW,GY,HT,HM,VA,HN,HK,HU,IS,IN,ID,CI,IR,IQ,IE,IM,IL,IT,JM,JP,JE,JO,KZ,KE,KI,KW,KG,LA,LV,LB,LS,LR,LY,LI,LT,LU,MO,MK,MG,MW,MY,MV,ML,MT,MH,MQ,MR,MU,YT,MX,FM,MD,MC,MN,ME,MS,MA,MZ,MM,NA,NR,NP,NL,NC,NZ,NI,NE,NG,NU,NF,KP,MP,NO,OM,PK,PW,PS,PA,PG,PY,PE,PH,PN,PL,PT,PR,QA,RE,RO,RU,RW,BL,SH,KN,LC,MF,PM,VC,WS,SM,ST,SA,SN,RS,SC,SL,SG,SX,SK,SI,SB,SO,ZA,GS,KR,SS,ES,LK,SD,SR,SJ,SZ,SE,CH,SY,TW,TJ,TZ,TH,TL,TG,TK,TO,TT,TN,TR,TM,TC,TV,UG,UA,AE,GB,US,UY,UZ,VU,VE,VN,WF,EH,YE,ZM,ZW,XK&quot;,&quot;content_id&quot;:&quot;df4af4b7-e68e-4868-89ae-48fe06d75e7b&quot;,&quot;content_release_date_local_utc&quot;:&quot;2026-08-15T23:04:27.639Z&quot;,&quot;content_title&quot;:&quot;2026 European Athletics Championships: Kate O\u2019Connor wins gold for Ireland for major summer double: \u201cI feel like a different person\u201d&quot;,&quot;tag&quot;:&quot;[\\&quot;discipline-athletics\\&quot;,\\&quot;2026-wa-athletics-european-championships-birmingham\\&quot;,\\&quot;gender-female\\&quot;,\\&quot;juliet-nottingham\\&quot;,\\&quot;newsclip\\&quot;,\\&quot;apple-news-all\\&quot;,\\&quot;ireland\\&quot;,\\&quot;has-flourish-graphics\\&quot;]&quot;,&quot;module_type&quot;:&quot;TextBlock&quot;,&quot;module_title&quot;:&quot;2026 European Athletics Championships: Kate O\u2019Connor wins gold for Ireland for major summer double: \u201cI feel like a different person\u201d&quot;,&quot;section_level_1&quot;:&quot;news&quot;,&quot;section_level_2&quot;:&quot;2026-european-athletics-championships-kate-oconnor-gold-ireland-double-different-person&quot;,&quot;discipline&quot;:&quot;discipline-athletics&quot;,&quot;odf_id&quot;:&quot;ATH&quot;,&quot;module_instance&quot;:&quot;Inline&quot;,&quot;module_id&quot;:null}\" data-tracking=\"click\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">European Athletics<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/news\/athletics-2026-european-athletics-championships-birmingham-schedule-medallists-results\" data-tracking-payload=\"{&quot;implementation_provider&quot;:&quot;sed&quot;,&quot;content_geography&quot;:&quot;AF,AX,AL,DZ,AS,AD,AO,AI,AQ,AG,AR,AM,AW,AU,AT,AZ,BS,BH,BD,BB,BY,BE,BZ,BJ,BM,BT,BO,BQ,BA,BW,BV,BR,IO,UM,VG,VI,BN,BG,BF,BI,KH,CM,CA,CV,KY,CF,TD,CL,CN,CX,CC,CO,KM,CG,CD,CK,CR,HR,CU,CW,CY,CZ,DK,DJ,DM,DO,EC,EG,SV,GQ,ER,EE,ET,FK,FO,FJ,FI,FR,GF,PF,TF,GA,GM,GE,DE,GH,GI,GR,GL,GD,GP,GU,GT,GG,GN,GW,GY,HT,HM,VA,HN,HK,HU,IS,IN,ID,CI,IR,IQ,IE,IM,IL,IT,JM,JP,JE,JO,KZ,KE,KI,KW,KG,LA,LV,LB,LS,LR,LY,LI,LT,LU,MO,MK,MG,MW,MY,MV,ML,MT,MH,MQ,MR,MU,YT,MX,FM,MD,MC,MN,ME,MS,MA,MZ,MM,NA,NR,NP,NL,NC,NZ,NI,NE,NG,NU,NF,KP,MP,NO,OM,PK,PW,PS,PA,PG,PY,PE,PH,PN,PL,PT,PR,QA,RE,RO,RU,RW,BL,SH,KN,LC,MF,PM,VC,WS,SM,ST,SA,SN,RS,SC,SL,SG,SX,SK,SI,SB,SO,ZA,GS,KR,SS,ES,LK,SD,SR,SJ,SZ,SE,CH,SY,TW,TJ,TZ,TH,TL,TG,TK,TO,TT,TN,TR,TM,TC,TV,UG,UA,AE,GB,US,UY,UZ,VU,VE,VN,WF,EH,YE,ZM,ZW,XK&quot;,&quot;content_id&quot;:&quot;df4af4b7-e68e-4868-89ae-48fe06d75e7b&quot;,&quot;content_release_date_local_utc&quot;:&quot;2026-08-15T23:04:27.639Z&quot;,&quot;content_title&quot;:&quot;2026 European Athletics Championships: Kate O\u2019Connor wins gold for Ireland for major summer double: \u201cI feel like a different person\u201d&quot;,&quot;tag&quot;:&quot;[\\&quot;discipline-athletics\\&quot;,\\&quot;2026-wa-athletics-european-championships-birmingham\\&quot;,\\&quot;gender-female\\&quot;,\\&quot;juliet-nottingham\\&quot;,\\&quot;newsclip\\&quot;,\\&quot;apple-news-all\\&quot;,\\&quot;ireland\\&quot;,\\&quot;has-flourish-graphics\\&quot;]&quot;,&quot;module_type&quot;:&quot;TextBlock&quot;,&quot;module_title&quot;:&quot;2026 European Athletics Championships: Kate O\u2019Connor wins gold for Ireland for major summer double: \u201cI feel like a different person\u201d&quot;,&quot;section_level_1&quot;:&quot;news&quot;,&quot;section_level_2&quot;:&quot;2026-european-athletics-championships-kate-oconnor-gold-ireland-double-different-person&quot;,&quot;discipline&quot;:&quot;discipline-athletics&quot;,&quot;odf_id&quot;:&quot;ATH&quot;,&quot;module_instance&quot;:&quot;Inline&quot;,&quot;module_id&quot;:null}\" data-tracking=\"click\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Championship<\/a> gold to add to her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/sport-events\/2026-glasgow-commonwealth-games\" data-tracking-payload=\"{&quot;implementation_provider&quot;:&quot;sed&quot;,&quot;content_geography&quot;:&quot;AF,AX,AL,DZ,AS,AD,AO,AI,AQ,AG,AR,AM,AW,AU,AT,AZ,BS,BH,BD,BB,BY,BE,BZ,BJ,BM,BT,BO,BQ,BA,BW,BV,BR,IO,UM,VG,VI,BN,BG,BF,BI,KH,CM,CA,CV,KY,CF,TD,CL,CN,CX,CC,CO,KM,CG,CD,CK,CR,HR,CU,CW,CY,CZ,DK,DJ,DM,DO,EC,EG,SV,GQ,ER,EE,ET,FK,FO,FJ,FI,FR,GF,PF,TF,GA,GM,GE,DE,GH,GI,GR,GL,GD,GP,GU,GT,GG,GN,GW,GY,HT,HM,VA,HN,HK,HU,IS,IN,ID,CI,IR,IQ,IE,IM,IL,IT,JM,JP,JE,JO,KZ,KE,KI,KW,KG,LA,LV,LB,LS,LR,LY,LI,LT,LU,MO,MK,MG,MW,MY,MV,ML,MT,MH,MQ,MR,MU,YT,MX,FM,MD,MC,MN,ME,MS,MA,MZ,MM,NA,NR,NP,NL,NC,NZ,NI,NE,NG,NU,NF,KP,MP,NO,OM,PK,PW,PS,PA,PG,PY,PE,PH,PN,PL,PT,PR,QA,RE,RO,RU,RW,BL,SH,KN,LC,MF,PM,VC,WS,SM,ST,SA,SN,RS,SC,SL,SG,SX,SK,SI,SB,SO,ZA,GS,KR,SS,ES,LK,SD,SR,SJ,SZ,SE,CH,SY,TW,TJ,TZ,TH,TL,TG,TK,TO,TT,TN,TR,TM,TC,TV,UG,UA,AE,GB,US,UY,UZ,VU,VE,VN,WF,EH,YE,ZM,ZW,XK&quot;,&quot;content_id&quot;:&quot;df4af4b7-e68e-4868-89ae-48fe06d75e7b&quot;,&quot;content_release_date_local_utc&quot;:&quot;2026-08-15T23:04:27.639Z&quot;,&quot;content_title&quot;:&quot;2026 European Athletics Championships: Kate O\u2019Connor wins gold for Ireland for major summer double: \u201cI feel like a different person\u201d&quot;,&quot;tag&quot;:&quot;[\\&quot;discipline-athletics\\&quot;,\\&quot;2026-wa-athletics-european-championships-birmingham\\&quot;,\\&quot;gender-female\\&quot;,\\&quot;juliet-nottingham\\&quot;,\\&quot;newsclip\\&quot;,\\&quot;apple-news-all\\&quot;,\\&quot;ireland\\&quot;,\\&quot;has-flourish-graphics\\&quot;]&quot;,&quot;module_type&quot;:&quot;TextBlock&quot;,&quot;module_title&quot;:&quot;2026 European Athletics Championships: Kate O\u2019Connor wins gold for Ireland for major summer double: \u201cI feel like a different person\u201d&quot;,&quot;section_level_1&quot;:&quot;news&quot;,&quot;section_level_2&quot;:&quot;2026-european-athletics-championships-kate-oconnor-gold-ireland-double-different-person&quot;,&quot;discipline&quot;:&quot;discipline-athletics&quot;,&quot;odf_id&quot;:&quot;ATH&quot;,&quot;module_instance&quot;:&quot;Inline&quot;,&quot;module_id&quot;:null}\" data-tracking=\"click\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Commonwealth Games<\/a> gold just two weeks ago.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSurreal, crazy, amazing, exciting,\u201d she exclaimed afterwards.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCrossing the line and then realising that you\u2019re going to have the gold medal wrapped around your neck is just incredible, insane.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>O\u2019Connor finished with a national record total of 6751 points, 38 above Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/athletes\/emma-oosterwegel\" data-tracking-payload=\"{&quot;implementation_provider&quot;:&quot;sed&quot;,&quot;content_geography&quot;:&quot;AF,AX,AL,DZ,AS,AD,AO,AI,AQ,AG,AR,AM,AW,AU,AT,AZ,BS,BH,BD,BB,BY,BE,BZ,BJ,BM,BT,BO,BQ,BA,BW,BV,BR,IO,UM,VG,VI,BN,BG,BF,BI,KH,CM,CA,CV,KY,CF,TD,CL,CN,CX,CC,CO,KM,CG,CD,CK,CR,HR,CU,CW,CY,CZ,DK,DJ,DM,DO,EC,EG,SV,GQ,ER,EE,ET,FK,FO,FJ,FI,FR,GF,PF,TF,GA,GM,GE,DE,GH,GI,GR,GL,GD,GP,GU,GT,GG,GN,GW,GY,HT,HM,VA,HN,HK,HU,IS,IN,ID,CI,IR,IQ,IE,IM,IL,IT,JM,JP,JE,JO,KZ,KE,KI,KW,KG,LA,LV,LB,LS,LR,LY,LI,LT,LU,MO,MK,MG,MW,MY,MV,ML,MT,MH,MQ,MR,MU,YT,MX,FM,MD,MC,MN,ME,MS,MA,MZ,MM,NA,NR,NP,NL,NC,NZ,NI,NE,NG,NU,NF,KP,MP,NO,OM,PK,PW,PS,PA,PG,PY,PE,PH,PN,PL,PT,PR,QA,RE,RO,RU,RW,BL,SH,KN,LC,MF,PM,VC,WS,SM,ST,SA,SN,RS,SC,SL,SG,SX,SK,SI,SB,SO,ZA,GS,KR,SS,ES,LK,SD,SR,SJ,SZ,SE,CH,SY,TW,TJ,TZ,TH,TL,TG,TK,TO,TT,TN,TR,TM,TC,TV,UG,UA,AE,GB,US,UY,UZ,VU,VE,VN,WF,EH,YE,ZM,ZW,XK&quot;,&quot;content_id&quot;:&quot;df4af4b7-e68e-4868-89ae-48fe06d75e7b&quot;,&quot;content_release_date_local_utc&quot;:&quot;2026-08-15T23:04:27.639Z&quot;,&quot;content_title&quot;:&quot;2026 European Athletics Championships: Kate O\u2019Connor wins gold for Ireland for major summer double: \u201cI feel like a different person\u201d&quot;,&quot;tag&quot;:&quot;[\\&quot;discipline-athletics\\&quot;,\\&quot;2026-wa-athletics-european-championships-birmingham\\&quot;,\\&quot;gender-female\\&quot;,\\&quot;juliet-nottingham\\&quot;,\\&quot;newsclip\\&quot;,\\&quot;apple-news-all\\&quot;,\\&quot;ireland\\&quot;,\\&quot;has-flourish-graphics\\&quot;]&quot;,&quot;module_type&quot;:&quot;TextBlock&quot;,&quot;module_title&quot;:&quot;2026 European Athletics Championships: Kate O\u2019Connor wins gold for Ireland for major summer double: \u201cI feel like a different person\u201d&quot;,&quot;section_level_1&quot;:&quot;news&quot;,&quot;section_level_2&quot;:&quot;2026-european-athletics-championships-kate-oconnor-gold-ireland-double-different-person&quot;,&quot;discipline&quot;:&quot;discipline-athletics&quot;,&quot;odf_id&quot;:&quot;ATH&quot;,&quot;module_instance&quot;:&quot;Inline&quot;,&quot;module_id&quot;:null}\" data-tracking=\"click\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Emma Oosterwegel<\/a>, and 87 points clear of third-place <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/athletes\/sofie-dokter\" data-tracking-payload=\"{&quot;implementation_provider&quot;:&quot;sed&quot;,&quot;content_geography&quot;:&quot;AF,AX,AL,DZ,AS,AD,AO,AI,AQ,AG,AR,AM,AW,AU,AT,AZ,BS,BH,BD,BB,BY,BE,BZ,BJ,BM,BT,BO,BQ,BA,BW,BV,BR,IO,UM,VG,VI,BN,BG,BF,BI,KH,CM,CA,CV,KY,CF,TD,CL,CN,CX,CC,CO,KM,CG,CD,CK,CR,HR,CU,CW,CY,CZ,DK,DJ,DM,DO,EC,EG,SV,GQ,ER,EE,ET,FK,FO,FJ,FI,FR,GF,PF,TF,GA,GM,GE,DE,GH,GI,GR,GL,GD,GP,GU,GT,GG,GN,GW,GY,HT,HM,VA,HN,HK,HU,IS,IN,ID,CI,IR,IQ,IE,IM,IL,IT,JM,JP,JE,JO,KZ,KE,KI,KW,KG,LA,LV,LB,LS,LR,LY,LI,LT,LU,MO,MK,MG,MW,MY,MV,ML,MT,MH,MQ,MR,MU,YT,MX,FM,MD,MC,MN,ME,MS,MA,MZ,MM,NA,NR,NP,NL,NC,NZ,NI,NE,NG,NU,NF,KP,MP,NO,OM,PK,PW,PS,PA,PG,PY,PE,PH,PN,PL,PT,PR,QA,RE,RO,RU,RW,BL,SH,KN,LC,MF,PM,VC,WS,SM,ST,SA,SN,RS,SC,SL,SG,SX,SK,SI,SB,SO,ZA,GS,KR,SS,ES,LK,SD,SR,SJ,SZ,SE,CH,SY,TW,TJ,TZ,TH,TL,TG,TK,TO,TT,TN,TR,TM,TC,TV,UG,UA,AE,GB,US,UY,UZ,VU,VE,VN,WF,EH,YE,ZM,ZW,XK&quot;,&quot;content_id&quot;:&quot;df4af4b7-e68e-4868-89ae-48fe06d75e7b&quot;,&quot;content_release_date_local_utc&quot;:&quot;2026-08-15T23:04:27.639Z&quot;,&quot;content_title&quot;:&quot;2026 European Athletics Championships: Kate O\u2019Connor wins gold for Ireland for major summer double: \u201cI feel like a different person\u201d&quot;,&quot;tag&quot;:&quot;[\\&quot;discipline-athletics\\&quot;,\\&quot;2026-wa-athletics-european-championships-birmingham\\&quot;,\\&quot;gender-female\\&quot;,\\&quot;juliet-nottingham\\&quot;,\\&quot;newsclip\\&quot;,\\&quot;apple-news-all\\&quot;,\\&quot;ireland\\&quot;,\\&quot;has-flourish-graphics\\&quot;]&quot;,&quot;module_type&quot;:&quot;TextBlock&quot;,&quot;module_title&quot;:&quot;2026 European Athletics Championships: Kate O\u2019Connor wins gold for Ireland for major summer double: \u201cI feel like a different person\u201d&quot;,&quot;section_level_1&quot;:&quot;news&quot;,&quot;section_level_2&quot;:&quot;2026-european-athletics-championships-kate-oconnor-gold-ireland-double-different-person&quot;,&quot;discipline&quot;:&quot;discipline-athletics&quot;,&quot;odf_id&quot;:&quot;ATH&quot;,&quot;module_instance&quot;:&quot;Inline&quot;,&quot;module_id&quot;:null}\" data-tracking=\"click\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sofie Dokter<\/a>. Team GB\u2019s four-time Olympian\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/olympics.com\/en\/athletes\/katarina-johnson-thompson\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Katarina Johnson-Thompson<\/a> finished well behind after an injury-hit season.<\/p>\n<p>It has now been 735 days since O\u2019Connor last left a competition without a medal around her neck, when she finished 14th in her Olympic debut in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/olympic-games\/paris-2024\" data-tracking-payload=\"{&quot;implementation_provider&quot;:&quot;sed&quot;,&quot;content_geography&quot;:&quot;AF,AX,AL,DZ,AS,AD,AO,AI,AQ,AG,AR,AM,AW,AU,AT,AZ,BS,BH,BD,BB,BY,BE,BZ,BJ,BM,BT,BO,BQ,BA,BW,BV,BR,IO,UM,VG,VI,BN,BG,BF,BI,KH,CM,CA,CV,KY,CF,TD,CL,CN,CX,CC,CO,KM,CG,CD,CK,CR,HR,CU,CW,CY,CZ,DK,DJ,DM,DO,EC,EG,SV,GQ,ER,EE,ET,FK,FO,FJ,FI,FR,GF,PF,TF,GA,GM,GE,DE,GH,GI,GR,GL,GD,GP,GU,GT,GG,GN,GW,GY,HT,HM,VA,HN,HK,HU,IS,IN,ID,CI,IR,IQ,IE,IM,IL,IT,JM,JP,JE,JO,KZ,KE,KI,KW,KG,LA,LV,LB,LS,LR,LY,LI,LT,LU,MO,MK,MG,MW,MY,MV,ML,MT,MH,MQ,MR,MU,YT,MX,FM,MD,MC,MN,ME,MS,MA,MZ,MM,NA,NR,NP,NL,NC,NZ,NI,NE,NG,NU,NF,KP,MP,NO,OM,PK,PW,PS,PA,PG,PY,PE,PH,PN,PL,PT,PR,QA,RE,RO,RU,RW,BL,SH,KN,LC,MF,PM,VC,WS,SM,ST,SA,SN,RS,SC,SL,SG,SX,SK,SI,SB,SO,ZA,GS,KR,SS,ES,LK,SD,SR,SJ,SZ,SE,CH,SY,TW,TJ,TZ,TH,TL,TG,TK,TO,TT,TN,TR,TM,TC,TV,UG,UA,AE,GB,US,UY,UZ,VU,VE,VN,WF,EH,YE,ZM,ZW,XK&quot;,&quot;content_id&quot;:&quot;df4af4b7-e68e-4868-89ae-48fe06d75e7b&quot;,&quot;content_release_date_local_utc&quot;:&quot;2026-08-15T23:04:27.639Z&quot;,&quot;content_title&quot;:&quot;2026 European Athletics Championships: Kate O\u2019Connor wins gold for Ireland for major summer double: \u201cI feel like a different person\u201d&quot;,&quot;tag&quot;:&quot;[\\&quot;discipline-athletics\\&quot;,\\&quot;2026-wa-athletics-european-championships-birmingham\\&quot;,\\&quot;gender-female\\&quot;,\\&quot;juliet-nottingham\\&quot;,\\&quot;newsclip\\&quot;,\\&quot;apple-news-all\\&quot;,\\&quot;ireland\\&quot;,\\&quot;has-flourish-graphics\\&quot;]&quot;,&quot;module_type&quot;:&quot;TextBlock&quot;,&quot;module_title&quot;:&quot;2026 European Athletics Championships: Kate O\u2019Connor wins gold for Ireland for major summer double: \u201cI feel like a different person\u201d&quot;,&quot;section_level_1&quot;:&quot;news&quot;,&quot;section_level_2&quot;:&quot;2026-european-athletics-championships-kate-oconnor-gold-ireland-double-different-person&quot;,&quot;discipline&quot;:&quot;discipline-athletics&quot;,&quot;odf_id&quot;:&quot;ATH&quot;,&quot;module_instance&quot;:&quot;Inline&quot;,&quot;module_id&quot;:null}\" data-tracking=\"click\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Paris 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like a different person,\u201d O\u2019Connor said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery competition has been different, and I\u2019ve been learning so much with each one. I think that every experience has made me a better athlete. I think that that\u2019s why I was able to navigate these last two days so well, because of the experience that I\u2019ve had from every other championship. I think I\u2019m probably in my prime, which hopefully will last a long time. I have a lot of plans and expectations for myself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know I can be better, and I will be better. Hopefully, at the Olympics I\u2019ll have a perfect heptathlon. That would be an ideal time, wouldn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After 16 disciplines in 14 days, heptathlon\u2019s all-conquering Kate O\u2019Connor earned her maiden European Athletics Championship gold to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":594598,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":["post-594597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=594597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/594598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=594597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=594597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=594597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}