It’s only the 12th Irish medal won at these championships since 1987, Derval O’Rourke being the last athlete before O’Connor, winning gold in the 60m hurdles back in 2006. “And I think younger Kate would have carried a lot of disappointment into the shot, and then probably not performed. Ireland’s Kate O’Connor celebrates with gold medal winner Sofie Dokter of the Netherlands, silver medal winner Anna Hall of the USA and Poland’s Adrianna Sułek-Schubert after the 800m, the final event in the pentathlon. The 31-year-old had made two World Indoor finals before, and Lavin didn’t conceal her disappointment. It really did hit me in the call room, looking around, these are the best athletes in the world.

Source: The Irish Times March 23, 2026 01:08 UTC