Kate O'Connor Dedicates European Heptathlon Gold to Late Grandmother Madeleine
Kate O'Connor stood atop the European Championships podium in Birmingham with a gold medal around her neck and a name on her lips: Madeleine. Her grandmother, who fell ill after the world indoor championships and later died, never got to see this one. O'Connor dedicated the title to her. BBC Sport
The 24-year-old from Newry, running for Dundalk St Gerard's AC, scored 6,751 points across seven events — an Irish record — to win heptathlon gold at the 2026 European Athletics Championships. The heptathlon tests athletes across two days and seven disciplines: sprints, jumps, throws and an 800m to finish. O'Connor sat third at the halfway mark before climbing to first. European Athletics Athletics Ireland
Emma Oosterwegel of the Netherlands took silver. Sofie Dokter of the Netherlands claimed bronze. European Athletics
Madeleine was one of O'Connor's biggest supporters. She used to call herself, with a wink, "Kate O'Connor's granny." When O'Connor crossed the line in Birmingham, that private joke turned into a public goodbye.
The gold sits inside a remarkable run. Since the start of 2025, O'Connor has collected seven major championship medals. She won world indoor silver in March 2025 — her first global medal. She took heptathlon silver at the World Championships in Tokyo with 6,714 points, finishing behind only Anna Hall of the USA. She won the World University Games by more than 400 points. Irish Athlete of the Year followed. A shortlisting for European Women's Athlete of the Year came too. Athletics Ireland European Athletics European Athletics Athletics Ireland
She also claimed Team Northern Ireland's first gold at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, winning the heptathlon there as well. European Athletics
Her father, Michael, coaches her. The plan now is rest — a couple of weeks off to "chill" and step away from athletics talk — before the two sit down together and take stock of everything 2026 brought. BBC Sport
For a general sense of how far O'Connor has come: in 2020 she became the first Irishwoman to break 6,000 points in the heptathlon. Her national record then was 6,093. She has raised it by more than 650 points since. European Athletics
Birmingham was her senior European outdoor debut. She leaves it as champion.
