Kate O'Connor secured the heptathlon gold medal at the European Championships in Birmingham on Saturday, completing a remarkable summer that also included victory at the Commonwealth Games. The 25-year-old from Newry celebrated her latest triumph with what she called a "double burger" - one for each major title claimed within three weeks.
The Irish athlete's dual success, representing Ireland at the Europeans and Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games, has cemented her standing as one of the most accomplished figures in Irish athletics history. Yet even amid the celebrations, O'Connor is already focused on surpassing her current achievements.
It was beautiful, it was stunning, I ate every single bite of it. And yeah, it was bliss.
What are O'Connor's ambitions beyond this summer?
Her sights are firmly set on converting recent success into world and Olympic glory. O'Connor previously claimed silver at the World Championships, finishing behind American rival Anna Hall, and now hopes to go one better in Beijing next year before targeting the 2028 Olympic Games.
I've got two titles to my name now, and the next goal is to get a world title and then an Olympic title. That is ultimately the aim.
Rather than keep her aspirations private, O'Connor believes in stating her goals publicly as a way of generating excitement and accountability.
When you put in so much work in behind the scenes, why not tell people what you're aiming for and make everybody else excited? When you know you're capable, I think that there's no harm in saying what you're aiming for. But it's going to take those points here and there and everywhere. Those centimetres across all the events.
Despite her rapid rise over the past two seasons, O'Connor acknowledges she still has significant progress to make if she wants to challenge for the sport's biggest prizes.
People are going to be nipping at my toes and I think that Anna is probably still the person that is just sitting out there a little bit in front. It's how can I get closer to her to be putting her under pressure?
She envisions a thrilling scenario at future major championships where the outcome remains uncertain until the very end.
It would be class if we were all standing on the line of the hurdles at the Olympics and nobody knew what was going to happen and it was a fight from start to finish. Which I think it will be and I think it's really exciting that I've put myself in the mix and I'm speaking like this and thinking these sort of things and thinking that I'm 100% going to be in the mix for a world title or an Olympic title.
How difficult was the path to European gold?
Unlike her comfortable Commonwealth Games victory in Glasgow, O'Connor's European title required a hard-fought battle, with a personal best score of 6,751 points - a tally that would have earned bronze at the Paris Olympics but only secured victory by 38 points in Birmingham on 16 August 2025. Being the athlete under pressure, rather than chasing a title, presented a new psychological challenge for O'Connor.
It was probably the most nerve-wracking competition of my whole life. My nervous system is completely fried from it. I didn't give myself a second to breathe.
The competition swung between moments of brilliance and difficulty, testing O'Connor's resilience throughout.
There were moments where I gave myself every chance and every opportunity to win the gold medal, and there were moments where I basically buried myself into the floor with some of the performances, which were gut-wrenching at the time.
Despite the imperfections, O'Connor found the victory more satisfying than her previous world championship success precisely because of how hard she had to fight for it.
I by far did not have a perfect competition but I still managed to come out on top and I think that this one is even more sweeter than the world championships because of the fight that I had to put in, and nobody knew whether I had that gold medal until I crossed the line.
Why did O'Connor dedicate her medal to her grandmother?
Following her victory, O'Connor plans to take a short break from athletics before sitting down with her father and coach, Michael, to plan for the coming years. Behind the celebrations, however, lies a personal loss - the passing of her grandmother, Madeleine, whom O'Connor honoured with her European gold medal.
My granny was one of my biggest supporters and, like, every medal that I would win, she was completely over the moon every single time. She would always make jokes that she was no longer called Madeleine. She was called Kate O'Connor's granny.
O'Connor described how her grandmother's illness coincided with a demanding period for the family, as her father balanced caregiving duties with coaching responsibilities.
She loved to tell literally everybody and anybody that she met. It was really tough after world indoors, whenever she got sick and my dad was split between looking after her and training me. It was just a really tough time for the whole family but my dad has been completely incredible.
O'Connor believes her grandmother's pride and support extended beyond her passing, providing motivation during the championship.
She was already the proudest person in the world and I think that she was watching over me over those last couple of days. That's why I wanted to dedicate it to her because she's been such a huge part of my life, a huge part of my dad's life and an inspiration to all of my family.
Key Facts
- Kate O'Connor won heptathlon gold at the European Championships in Birmingham on 16 August 2025 with a personal best score of 6,751 points.
- Her winning margin was 38 points, and the score would have earned bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
- O'Connor also won gold at the Commonwealth Games for Northern Ireland earlier this summer.
- She previously claimed silver at the World Championships behind American athlete Anna Hall.
- O'Connor dedicated her European gold medal to her late grandmother, Madeleine.
