The Irish Times/Sport Ireland Sportswoman Award for March: Kate O’Connor and Sarah Healy (Athletics)
It was some 36 minutes for Irish athletics at the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn back in March. Mark English kick-started a magical medal haul by winning bronze in the 800m, Sarah Healy followed with her golden run in the 3,000m, and then Kate O’Connor became the first Irish athlete in history to medal in a senior multi-event when she took bronze in the pentathlon. Dizzying.
“It just made it an even more special day for the three of us to medal so close together,” says Healy. “It was an amazing moment for me individually, but it’s even better when you get to share it with other people.”
“I knew Mark had won a medal right before I stepped out on the track, and then I got to watch Kate win hers from the mixed zone after my race, so that was really cool. We’ve all had very different journeys, but I think we all know how hard each other works, so we were as thrilled for each other as we were for ourselves.”
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What struck so many watching Healy win her gold, when she timed her run to perfection to beat Britain’s Melissa Courtney-Bryant on the line, was how relaxed she looked through it all. She’d had her disappointments before, not least in Paris at the Olympics, so the expectation might have been that she’d be nerve-filled.
But the 24-year-old Dubliner talked at the time about a change in her mindset, how she wanted to enjoy her sport rather than feel pressured by the expectations she, above anyone, puts on herself.
“And I think I was as calm as I’ve ever been before a race, I was much more relaxed and having a bit more fun in the warm-up. And even during the race, I was never panicking at any stage, I really felt like I could win it the whole way around.
“And that’s really important because it’s nine minutes of running, or just under, and you waste a lot of energy if you’re getting stressed early on. Staying calm allows you to conserve your energy and leaves you with enough for that last 30 metres or so.
“There has been a mindset shift, yeah, I am trying to have more fun, although sometimes that’s hard when you’re in nerve-racking situations. But if you keep it a little lighter, and not get weighed down by pressure, it just allows you to perform to your potential. Along with that, I’ve been doing this professionally for two years now so you learn a lot along the way. And you get physically and mentally stronger, so when you put all those factors together, it gives you a chance.”
There wasn’t much time to unwind after Apeldoorn, with the World Athletics Indoor Championships taking place just two weeks later, Healy finishing sixth in the 3,000m final in China, and she’s hard at work again at her training base in Potchefstroom, South Africa, where she’s preparing for the outdoor season.
“And outdoors at world level is a whole new ball game,” she says, “but winning that gold did a lot for my confidence. It’s really nice to have a title like that, it marks a bit of a step in my career because I’d never won a senior medal before. I know I still have lots to improve on but I know now that if I’m in the right place mentally and physically I can be someone who gets it done on the day – for a while it felt like I could never get it right when it mattered the most.”
While there will be plenty to keep Healy and O’Connor busy through the summer, for both the chief target for the year is September’s World Championships in Tokyo.
Considering the form she’s been in, O’Connor might wish that they were taking place next week. After winning that bronze at the Europeans, the 24-year-old from Dundalk went one better at the World Indoor Championships by taking silver, Ireland’s first medal at the event in 19 years. And she became just the third Irishwoman, after Sonia O’Sullivan in 1997 and Derval O’Rourke in 2006, to make a World Indoor podium.
Like Healy, O’Connor excelled at junior level, her breakthrough coming at the 2019 European Under-20 Championships when she won silver in the heptathlon; before then, no Irish woman had won a championship medal at any level in the event. Coached by her father, Michael, she divides her time between her sport and completing a masters in Communications and Public Relations at Ulster University.
Needless to say, it was impossible to separate Healy and O’Connor’s March achievements, the judges concluding that it would border on the scandalous if either name was left off the roll of honour. A shared award it is, then – and you’d have a notion, there are a few more special days to come for the pair in 2025 and beyond.
Previous monthly winners – December 2024: Ellen Walshe (Swimming); January: Hazel Finn (Basketball); February: Lara Gillespie (Cycling).
