KATE O’CONNOR DELIVERED in front of a sold-out crowd on the final day of the National Indoor Championships at Abbotstown, sealing a new personal best and championship record in the long jump.
O’Connor’s 6.5m placed her third on the all-time Irish list, and further burnished a weekend that yesterday featured a new PB of 8.21 in the 60m hurdles.
“I’ve been training well and I was never going to enter myself into something I’m not training well in”, said O’Connor. “It’s one thing doing well in training, but another thing to come out and do it when you’re under the pressure of competition. You’ve three chances to put in a good attempt as a multi-eventer, so I’m delighted I put that jump in on my first attempt.
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“Last year I made leaps and bounds forward, but I ended last year knowing I had so much more potential. I didn’t feel in any way that I had maxed out any of the events and that’s what we’ve been working on all winter. This is my job now and I’m working towards my goals for 2026.”
Elsewhere, Sharlene Mawdsley continued her dominance of the 400m event, winning a third-straight title in 51.89. Sean Doggett held firm under immense pressure from Fintan Dewhirst to take the men’s 400m in 47.33.
Nick Griggs won gold in the men’s 3000m in 8:14.52, battling it out with Darragh McElhinney (8:15.08) after Andrew Coscoran came down on the final bend.
Louise Shanahan took the women’s 3000m, bursting through in the closing metres (9:22.47) to add to last year’s 800m indoor title.
Lughaidh Mallon (3:43.45) edged Luke McCann to take the men’s 1500m, while Lucy Holmes won the women’s event in 4:31.10.
Bori Akinola maintained his fine form to take the 60m title in 6.6 seconds, as Ciara Neville (7.27) won the women’s 60m in what marked her first national indoor title since 2010.
The 800m finals were also closely contested with Hannah Seagrave claiming her first senior indoor title in the women’s race. The men’s event produced a championship record, with Cillian Kirwan storming to victory in 1:47.68.
The day’s first track titles were decided in the race walks, where Kate Veale wining an extraordinary tenth consecutive national indoor title, while Oisín Lane won his first senior indoor crown in the men’s event.
Eric Favors broke the championships record in the men’s shot with 19.57m, while Michaela Walsh picked up her 9th indoor title in a row. Michael Kent retained his title in the men’s pole vault with a best clearance of 4.50m.
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Kate O'Connor's championship record the headline act on second day of national indoors
KATE O’CONNOR DELIVERED in front of a sold-out crowd on the final day of the National Indoor Championships at Abbotstown, sealing a new personal best and championship record in the long jump.
O’Connor’s 6.5m placed her third on the all-time Irish list, and further burnished a weekend that yesterday featured a new PB of 8.21 in the 60m hurdles.
“I’ve been training well and I was never going to enter myself into something I’m not training well in”, said O’Connor. “It’s one thing doing well in training, but another thing to come out and do it when you’re under the pressure of competition. You’ve three chances to put in a good attempt as a multi-eventer, so I’m delighted I put that jump in on my first attempt.
“Last year I made leaps and bounds forward, but I ended last year knowing I had so much more potential. I didn’t feel in any way that I had maxed out any of the events and that’s what we’ve been working on all winter. This is my job now and I’m working towards my goals for 2026.”
Elsewhere, Sharlene Mawdsley continued her dominance of the 400m event, winning a third-straight title in 51.89. Sean Doggett held firm under immense pressure from Fintan Dewhirst to take the men’s 400m in 47.33.
Nick Griggs won gold in the men’s 3000m in 8:14.52, battling it out with Darragh McElhinney (8:15.08) after Andrew Coscoran came down on the final bend.
Louise Shanahan took the women’s 3000m, bursting through in the closing metres (9:22.47) to add to last year’s 800m indoor title.
Lughaidh Mallon (3:43.45) edged Luke McCann to take the men’s 1500m, while Lucy Holmes won the women’s event in 4:31.10.
Bori Akinola maintained his fine form to take the 60m title in 6.6 seconds, as Ciara Neville (7.27) won the women’s 60m in what marked her first national indoor title since 2010.
The 800m finals were also closely contested with Hannah Seagrave claiming her first senior indoor title in the women’s race. The men’s event produced a championship record, with Cillian Kirwan storming to victory in 1:47.68.
The day’s first track titles were decided in the race walks, where Kate Veale wining an extraordinary tenth consecutive national indoor title, while Oisín Lane won his first senior indoor crown in the men’s event.
Eric Favors broke the championships record in the men’s shot with 19.57m, while Michaela Walsh picked up her 9th indoor title in a row. Michael Kent retained his title in the men’s pole vault with a best clearance of 4.50m.
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Athletics National Indoor Athletics Championships raising the bar