Kate O'Connor aiming to topple the pentathletes she once aspired to be like

Irish Examiner

a day ago

The indoor campaign was a dream come true: Kate O'Connor's first two senior medals for Ireland arriving in one sweet and savoured fortnight.
But she's working just as hard for the encore, the Dundalk multi-eventer preparing to open her outdoor season at the World University Games in Germany on 23 July, after which all roads will lead to Tokyo for the World Championships in September.
'My training, honestly, has been going really, really well,' says O'Connor. 'If I could just stay in the condition that I am right now, hold it until September, I think that I'll put together a pretty good performance.'
The 24-year-old is currently in Monte Gordo, Portugal, churning out twice-daily sessions while tipping away on her dissertation for a masters in communication and PR at Ulster University.
O'Connor was a European U-20 silver medallist in 2019 and Commonwealth Games silver medallist for Northern Ireland in 2022 but this year brought her first senior medals for Ireland: pentathlon bronze at the European Indoors and pentathlon silver at the World Indoors. They've changed how she's thinking about upcoming events.
'In previous years, we've gone to championships and I've looked up to those girls, where now it's a little bit more like I want to turn up and put it up to the girls,' she says.
'I think my indoor season has put me in the bracket [where] I will definitely be up there. I think it'll take another couple of years to be challenging for the top spot, and that's ultimately my goal.'
Irish pentathlete Kate O'Connor during the announcement of 123.ie's extended landmark partnership with Athletics Ireland—now running through to the end of 2030 as part of a multi-year, six-figure deal. For more information, visit www.athleticsireland.ie. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
O'Connor signed a professional deal with adidas, which helps cover the considerable expense of being a world-class heptathlete.
'Financially, it's definitely getting better,' she says.
'The backing I've got since indoors is on the up and over the next couple of years that'll come into play and see the benefits. Obviously, I'd love it to be more and I'd love to be able to bring my whole coaching staff with me and not have to choose based on budget.'
Before this year, few outside of athletics knew much about O'Connor but her indoor campaign made her a well-known name. That comes with certain demands.
'It's taken a little bit of time to figure out what to say yes to and what to say no to,' she says.
'I would probably be a little bit of a people pleaser and I'd have been saying yes to a lot of stuff, then suddenly starting to feel really overwhelmed and trying to fit training in.
"At the start I was very naïve, thinking in the three weeks I took off afterwards (that) I was going to be able to fit everything in and then it would just stop and I'd be able to go back to normal.
"My dad has been a great help, dealing with all the emails, requests. He's been taking the brunt and I've been able to focus on training.'
With the World Championships still over 10 weeks away, O'Connor was in no rush to open her season too early and she will only do so when she toes the line for the heptathlon at the World University Games later this month, where she hopes to break her Irish record of 6297 points and also surpass 6500.
That kind of score would typically be top-six at World or Olympic level, with 6700 or 6800 points usually needed for a medal. O'Connor has put huge emphasis on improving her speed this year and hopes to break 24 seconds for 200m, while her javelin PB of 52.92m dates to 2019 and looks ripe for revision.
The addition of both to her indoor disciplines would see the Irish heptathlon record soar into very different territory.
'Everything is going well, I'm in the same sort of shape I was indoors, if not better,' she says.
'If you can turn up and your body's in good condition, then I think that anything can happen if you put the performances together.'
Kate O'Connor was speaking at the launch of Athletics Ireland's extended partnership with 123.ie