History maker Kate O’Connor’s star continues to rise with the Dundalk heptathlete finishing 13th at her debut World Championships in Budapest. The St Gerard’s AC club member became the first ever Irish heptathlete to compete at a World Championship with last year’s Commonwealth Games silver medalist finishing on 5239 points after two days of intense competition in Hungary.
The 22-year old’s competition included a personal best in the 100m hurdles as well as three season’s best in the high jump, 200m, and her final event which was the 800m.
Kate was very proud with how she finished the competition as she surged down the home straight to finish 4th in the final event of her championships. That strong finish capped a fine debut championships for O’Connor who said she was proud to represent her country on the world stage.
“I am really proud of myself with how I did and it was an absolute privilege to represent my country on the world stage,” stated Kate. “I had so much fun and I just can’t believe how quickly it all went by. The amount of Irish flags in the stadium was unreal and it was such a cool feeling to walk around the track at the end of the 800metres and see all the Irish fans in the crowd.
“I can remember going to the World Championships in London when I was maybe 11 or 12 and thinking that the multi event athletes were the coolest people in the stadium and from that day I have always wanted to compete myself at a World Championships. I think last year’s silver medal at the Commonwealth Games gave me a real confidence boost and I can definitely feel myself getting more used to competing at these big events.
“I know there is room for improvement and I know what I have to work on. I am always striving to get better and one day I want to be up there competing for medals at these big championships. I was so proud of my performance in the 800ms. It’s the last event and everybody is tired after a grueling two days of competition but I finished the race very strongly and it was nice to pass out a few girls on the home straight. Somebody told me I was the first ever Irish heptathlete to compete at a world championships and that’s amazing if true. I was inspired by some great athletes of the past and I suppose now that I’m competing at a high level my goal is to inspire as many boys and girls as I can,” stated Kate.
