Paulina LIGARSKA, women’s pentathlon, POL
Szabina SZŰCS, women’s pentathlon, HUN
Anna HALL, women’s pentathlon, USA
Kate O’CONNOR, Women’s Pentathlon, IRL
Sveva GEREVINI, pentathlon women, ITA. photo by World Athletics
Kate O’Connor, bronze medalist, World Indoor Championships, Torun, Poland
I was informed for the first time Kate O’Connor by watching him in European closed pentathlon last year in Apeldoornwhen he was third. Over the years, he has amassed quite a collection of all-around medals ranging from his silver medal in the heptathlon at the 2019 European Under-20 Championships.
Inside he followed that European bronze a world silver in Nanjing last year. Outside he took a Silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham 2022 – he’s in the weird category he’s competing in (Republic of) Ireland at the European and World Championships, and for Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games. She won silver at the World Heptathlon Championships in Tokyo last year, behind Anna Hall but ahead of Katarina Johnson-Thompson.
Kate O’CONNOR, women’s pentathlon, IRL, photo by World Athletics
His speeches in Toruń last weekend were:
60 m hurdles 8:23 a.m
High jump 1.81 m
Shooting 14.70 PR
Long jump 6:38 a.m
800 m 2:10.26 HR
Two PRs, but of course he was not satisfied. “I came here with really high expectations, and even though I won a medal, I expected a little bit more. But I can’t complain. My scores improved and that’s what counts, so I’m really thankful. Since nationals I had a few climbs in training, so to come here and win a medal means a lot. I’m excited to add another one to the collection.”
Trained by his father, Michael, he took up track and field at an early age and tried various disciplines. He recalled raising eyebrows at the junior event when he entered the javelin and 800m.
In a recent interview, he said he likes multi-events because “if one event doesn’t go well, I have six others to try and cheer me up. It’s something to learn with multiple events. You have to be able to handle the lows, but you also need to be able to handle the highs. Heptathlon is such a mental game, not just physical, and I haven’t gotten to it yet, but I’ve definitely gotten better when I was younger, that’s what I love about heptathlon.
She was further on this path, becoming Ireland’s first Olympic heptathlete in Paris and the first Irish woman to break the 6,000 heptathlon mark. She is looking forward to a busy summer with the European Championships and third Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast as a 17-year-old, as well as her silver medal in 2022.
And he seems to be steadily improving.
