Commonwealth Games 2026: Glasgow gold milestone moment for Kate O’Connor

Given her impressive 2025, the pressure was on O’Connor to win at least one medal in Glasgow, and that only increased after Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who won gold before her in 2022, withdrew.

The Englishwoman’s withdrawal paved the way for a good shot at that coveted gold, but she still had to go out and deliver.

O’Connor finished with 6,569 points, 291 ahead of her nearest rival, England’s Jed O’Dowder, but it wasn’t all straightforward.

Resilience is a key attribute for any athlete, but especially a heptathlete.

Fortunes can fluctuate across the seven events so a substantial supply is needed to come out on top at the end of two days of competition.

That was especially relevant for O’Connor in the rain-soaked second session of the event on Tuesday evening.

After a good start in the morning, which included third place in the 100m hurdles and a season’s best of 1.82m in the high jump, O’Connor struggled in the shot put and fell short of her high mark, throwing just 12.85m due to heavy rain.

He said that trying to catch a shot in the rain was like trying to pick up a bar of soap and that he was “hurt” because he “made it so much easier for the rest of them to beat me”.

His resilience was amply shown in the 200m following which he defied the elements to easily win his heat in a time of 24.14.

The Newry-born athlete added that he had to “work really hard” on Wednesday and he did, finishing with an improvement.

First came a big leap of 6.37m in the long jump, then another season’s best, this time in the javelin, of 52.85m which outshone those around him.

It would be particularly satisfying as it was an event he had been working hard to improve on for the 2026 title.

All that was left was to hold his nerve in the 800m and he did that and more, cruising to victory in a time of 2:10.46 just as the sun broke through to celebrate at Scotstown.

“I came here expecting a lot from myself and I really wanted to score like 6,600 or 6,700 and open my season because that’s what I felt like I was.”

“After the first day I had to test myself a bit, it’s not always about getting huge scores but competing with the elements and challenges and getting the best out of myself.

“I tried to navigate as well as I could. The shot putt didn’t go to plan, needs to be worked on in these conditions, but I’m happy with how I did.

“There’s a lot of positives to come from it. I’ve got a gold medal around my neck so I can’t say much more than that.”