🇮🇪 Kate O’Connor Units Her Sights on World Glory
Kate O’Connor is now not only one to look at — she’s one to beat.
With European and World Indoor medals now in her assortment, the 24-year-old heptathlete enters a brand new part of her profession: not simply competing with the world’s greatest, however difficult them. As she prepares for two main summer time occasions — the World College Video games in Germany later this month and the World Championships in Tokyo in September — O’Connor is pondering massive.
“My complete staff focus has type of modified,” she says. “Earlier than, I’d go to championships trying as much as the highest women. Now I’m going there to place it as much as them.”
🏆 Perception Born from Breakthrough
O’Connor’s confidence is rooted in a sensational indoor season, the place she claimed bronze within the European Indoors pentathlon and silver on the World Indoors. These have been her first senior medals in an Irish vest, after earlier success as a European U20 silver medallist in 2019 and a Commonwealth Video games silver medallist for Northern Eire in 2022.
“I undoubtedly really feel like I’m in that bracket now,” she says. “It’ll take one other couple of years to problem for the very prime, however that’s the last word aim.”
📍 Monte Gordo Grind
Presently coaching in Monte Gordo, Portugal, O’Connor is placing in two periods a day whereas juggling the ultimate levels of a grasp’s diploma in communication and PR. It’s a heavy workload, however one she’s dealing with with focus and ambition.
“I’ve at all times had one thing exterior athletics – like college – to maintain me grounded,” she says. “You by no means know when damage or setbacks can hit. It helps to have a couple of identification.”
💼 Backed by Adidas
Earlier this 12 months, O’Connor signed an expert take care of adidas, giving her much-needed assist in probably the most demanding occasions in sport. It marks one other step in direction of her aim of changing into a full-time athlete after her diploma wraps up in September.
“Financially, it’s getting higher,” she says. “The assist since indoors has actually grown. Ideally, I’d like to carry my full teaching staff to each occasion and never need to make choices based mostly on finances.”
🌍 Greater Platform, Greater Stress
O’Connor’s success has introduced elevated public consideration, and with it, new challenges. “At first, I stated sure to all the things — media, occasions, interviews — but it surely shortly acquired overwhelming,” she admits. “My dad’s been wonderful, stepping in to deal with the flood of emails so I can focus on coaching.”
“I believed three weeks off after indoors could be sufficient to reset all the things, however I shortly realised the eye doesn’t simply cease. You need to discover ways to handle it.”
🎯 File-Breaking Targets
O’Connor will open her season on the World College Video games on July 23, the place she hopes to surpass her personal Irish heptathlon report of 6,297 factors. Her goal? Break 6,500 — a rating that will place her among the many world’s elite.
“I’ve centered exhausting on my velocity this 12 months,” she says. “If I can break 24 seconds within the 200m and enhance on my javelin — my PB is from 2019 — I’ll be in a fantastic place.”
With the World Championships simply over 10 weeks away, her timing is spot on. “I’m in related form to indoors, perhaps even higher. If the physique’s in good situation, something’s doable once you put the occasions collectively.”
🤝 Powered by Partnership
Kate O’Connor was talking on the launch of Athletics Eire’s prolonged sponsorship take care of 123.ie, a six-figure partnership operating till 2030. With massive backing and even larger ambition, the Dundalk native is able to tackle the world.
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