Kate O’Connor (Dundalk St. Gerard’s AC) sits in fourth position with just two events to go in the Women’s Heptathlon at the World Athletics Championships.
The Dundalk woman was back in action this morning in the Long Jump, producing a best of 6.22 metres to gain 918 points. This moves her up to 4824 points, 191 points up on where she was at this of her Irish record (6497 points) that was set in August.
The 24-year-old failed to register a mark in the first round, jumped 6.17 metres in the second before improving further in her final attempt.
“I’m pretty happy with that,” O’Connor told Athletics Ireland afterwards. “Solid is the word I would use, it wasn’t great, but it wasn’t too bad. I think I had a really good first jump and I just broke slightly. My run up was a little bit all over the place but to get a half decent jump in, I’m happy.
“The nerves go from zero to one hundred,” O’Connor said of fouling on her first jump. “If you foul on the second you’re in a pickle. It was really important to get that second jump in and then it was nice to get a couple of extra centimetres in the third. I’m looking forward to this evening.”
O’Connor will be back in action at 11am in the javelin, which is traditionally one of her strongest events. She will then close out her seven events with the 800m at 1:11pm.
Cian McPhillips (UCD AC) and the Women’s 4x400m relay team are also competing in the evening session.
McPhillips goes in the Men’s 800m final at 2:22pm, having became the first Irishman to reach a final of a global outdoor championship in this event. The women’s relay will look to seal a place in their final when they race in heat two at 12:11pm.
Kate O’Connor has won silver in the heptathlon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, setting a new Irish record of 6,714 points. Despite a knee injury during the long jump, O’Connor delivered five personal bests across seven events, including a gutsy 2:09.56 in the decisive 800m.
The Dundalk St Gerard’s athlete becomes the first Irish individual to medal in a multi-discipline event at the Worlds, and only the sixth Irish athlete ever to reach the podium.
Gold went to Anna Hall (USA) with 6,881 points, while O’Connor’s rivals Taliyah Brooks (USA) and Katarina Johnson-Thompson (GBR) shared bronze on 6,581.
Kate’s competition included PBs in the 100m hurdles, high jump, 200m, and a superb 53.06m javelin throw, propelling her into medal contention.
She joins Irish legends Eamonn Coghlan, Sonia O’Sullivan, Gillian O’Sullivan, Olive Loughnane, and Rob Heffernan as a World Championships medallist.
O’Connor had already enjoyed a superb 2025 season, claiming bronze in the pentathlon at the European Championships and silver at the World Indoors before setting a national record at the World University Games to claim gold outdoors.
Speaking after today’s medal winning display, O’Connor said, “It’s insane, words can’t describe the way that I feel or the year that I’ve had. My indoor season was a complete dream, and I wanted to carry that form into the outdoors. I’ve never come to a championship before and had as much pressure as I’ve had on my shoulders this week. I expected big things from myself, and I knew I was in with a shot of winning a medal.”
“I enjoyed every single second of the competition yesterday, but today not so much as I hurt my knee in the long jump, and it was just a real fight to the line in every event. The team around me have filled me with so much confidence today and it was just pure grit and determination that I managed to pull myself through.”
Chatting about her thoughts heading into the final 800m event, O’Connor said: “Going into that 800 meters, I told myself I wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity and I was never going to just settle for a bronze medal which was probably the easy option. I was always going to fight 100% to the line and I managed to pull out a PB (in the 800m).
“My expectations for myself changed this year and they’ve probably changed again now. I think I’ve set myself up really well for the next three years leading up to the Olympics and I’m prepared to put my head down and work really hard. I’m so happy that I can represent my country on a global stage and win global medals which hasn’t been done in a long time.”
National Record Summary (6,714 pts)
Cian McPhillips (UCD AC) announced his arrival on the global stage with a sensational fourth place finish in the men’s 800m final, smashing the Irish national record with a time of 1:42.15.
Coming from last place on the final bend, the Longford athlete surged through the field, missing out on a medal by just 0.8 seconds. Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi claimed gold in a championship record 1:41.86, with Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati (1:41.90) and Canada’s Marco Arop (1:41.95) taking silver and bronze.
Reflecting on his race, the 23-year-old UCD student said, “It would have been nice to get a medal, but we’ll leave that for next time. I’ve taken another second off my PB and was the first European home. Mixing it with the world’s best gives me huge confidence for the future.”
It completes a remarkable graduation to the senior ranks for the McPhillips who has overcome a serious back injury since winning gold in the 1500m at the European U20 Championships back in 2021, alongside fellow Irish gold medallists at those championships – Rhasidat Adeleke and Nick Griggs.
“It’s been a tough road, but I’m proud of the progress. There’s still more to come, and I’m optimistic for next year,” said McPhillips.
The women’s relay team of Sophie Becker, Cliodhna Manning, Rachel McCann, and Sharlene Mawdsley finished eighth in their heat of the 4x400m in a time of 3:29.27 which was not enough to advance to tomorrow’s final. The women’s relay team have given fans of Irish athletics some of the most memorable days in recent major championships and will have sights set on more major finals in 2026.
Today’s results round out Irish involvement at Tokyo 2025 and continues the upward trajectory of Irish performances at major international championships. The last nine days have seen Irish athletes break national records on three occasions, and claim a historic silver medal.
Outside of the medals, there were outstanding top-10 finishes for Fionnula McCormack (Marathon, 9th) and Sarah Healy (1500m, 10th), while Andrew Coscoran became the first Irish finalist in the men’s 1500m since Ciarán Ó Lionáird in 2011. The momentum behind Irish field events has also continued with UCD’s Nicola Tuthill finishing 11th in the women’s hammer final.
In all, Ireland secured a stunning four top-10 finishes, with a further nine top-20s which augers well heading into what will be another busy season internationally for Ireland’s top stars in 2026.
Full results can be found HERE.
