KATE O’CONNOR HAS won a gold medal in the heptathlon event at the Commonwealth Games in the Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow.
The Newry-born athlete was the overnight leader after the opening four events on Tuesday and continued to sit at the top of the leaderboard after the long jump and the javelin portions of the competition today.
O’Connor then finished in first place in the 800m event this evening with a time of 2:10.44 to triumph and seal Northern Ireland’s first Commonwealth gold in athletics for 40 years.
Advertisement
It was a convincing victory for the 25-year-old as she finished on 6,569 points, ahead of England’s Jade O’Dowda (6,278 points), who took silver, and bronze medallist Tori West (6,104 points) of Australia.
A silver medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, O’Connor had been favourite to prevail this week, with her biggest rival Katarina Johnson-Thompson missing the event through injury.
Earlier today, the Dundalk AC star produced an excellent leap of 6.37m in the long jump, which earned her 965 points. She then added a season’s best throw of 52.85m in the javelin to strengthen her quest for a gold medal.
It meant she led with 5,611 points going into the final event, with O’Dowda (5,330 points) and West (5,193 points) her closest rivals.
But despite the pressure of holding the lead in the climactic stages, O’Connor finished with a flourish, as her 800m win added 958 points to her overall score.
Northern Ireland have their first gold in Glasgow! 🥇
It builds on a memorable 2025, where O’Connor’s achievements included a gold medal at the Summer World University Games, silver medals at the World Championships and World Indoor Championships, while she picked up bronze at the latter event earlier this year.
O’Connor will be hoping to continue this remarkable run of success at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, which begin on 10 August.
Meanwhile, Anna McCauley, another Northern Irish representative, finished second behind O’Connor in the 800m and was eighth overall on 5,994 points.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
20 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Kate O'Connor wins gold medal at Commonwealth Games
Updated at 22.40
KATE O’CONNOR HAS won a gold medal in the heptathlon event at the Commonwealth Games in the Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow.
The Newry-born athlete was the overnight leader after the opening four events on Tuesday and continued to sit at the top of the leaderboard after the long jump and the javelin portions of the competition today.
O’Connor then finished in first place in the 800m event this evening with a time of 2:10.44 to triumph and seal Northern Ireland’s first Commonwealth gold in athletics for 40 years.
It was a convincing victory for the 25-year-old as she finished on 6,569 points, ahead of England’s Jade O’Dowda (6,278 points), who took silver, and bronze medallist Tori West (6,104 points) of Australia.
A silver medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, O’Connor had been favourite to prevail this week, with her biggest rival Katarina Johnson-Thompson missing the event through injury.
Earlier today, the Dundalk AC star produced an excellent leap of 6.37m in the long jump, which earned her 965 points. She then added a season’s best throw of 52.85m in the javelin to strengthen her quest for a gold medal.
It meant she led with 5,611 points going into the final event, with O’Dowda (5,330 points) and West (5,193 points) her closest rivals.
But despite the pressure of holding the lead in the climactic stages, O’Connor finished with a flourish, as her 800m win added 958 points to her overall score.
It builds on a memorable 2025, where O’Connor’s achievements included a gold medal at the Summer World University Games, silver medals at the World Championships and World Indoor Championships, while she picked up bronze at the latter event earlier this year.
O’Connor will be hoping to continue this remarkable run of success at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, which begin on 10 August.
Meanwhile, Anna McCauley, another Northern Irish representative, finished second behind O’Connor in the 800m and was eighth overall on 5,994 points.
Additional reporting by Paul Fennessy
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Athletics Champion Commonwealth Games Heptathlon kate o'connor Track and Field