A handy weekend for Kate O’Connor by her own multi-event standards, and still she was able to break new ground with her now irrepressibly competitive style. Two new lifetime bests of immense quality, and she’s only just getting started again.
In her first appearance of 2026, O’Connor took on two individual events at the National Indoor Championships – winning the long jump outright on Sunday with a spectacular opening leap, after finishing second to Sarah Lavin in Saturday’s 60 metres hurdles. Buoyant and buzzing, she couldn’t have wished for more.
The Sport Ireland Arena was packed to capacity, partly in anticipation of O’Connor’s return to competition for the first time since winning the heptathlon silver medal at the World Championships in Tokyo last September. Already it seems she’s moved up another level, confidence soaring too.
Coming in here, her long jump best of 6.32m was set during her silver medal run in the pentathlon at the World Indoor Championships a year ago – and she smashed that mark with her first jump on Sunday, leaping out to a massive 6.50m, the third fastest jump ever by an Irish woman.
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She followed that with jumps of 6.29, and 6.35m, then called it quits – skipping her final three jumps, already well satisfied with her return. That was also to mimic the three jumps permitted in the pentathlon, her next competition, with the 2026 World Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland now just under three weeks away.
After improving her 60m hurdles best on Saturday from 8.30 seconds to 8.21 – Lavin winning in 8.07 – O’Connor will know in her own head what those results would do for her pentathlon score. Only that’s for another day, the 25-year-old Dundalk athlete perfectly content for now.
“I came here to sharpen up, see where I’m at, so I’m absolutely delighted,” she said. “The training is all coming together, and I hope I can just replicate the same when I get to World Indoors, perform with those top girls, and hopefully do something good again.
“Training has been great, I’ve got a fire in my belly, I know what I want to do this year and I’ll try my best to go out and do it. To be out before a crowd like this, I’ve really enjoyed getting back. I’d something to work towards, still have something to work towards. I hope I can do more magical things this year.”
The only Irish women who have jumped longer are Elizabeth Ndudi, who last month jumped a national record of 6.63m in the US, and former Irish record holder Kelly Proper. O’Connor’s 8.21 in the 60m hurdles also moves her to third on the Irish all-time list behind Lavin and Derval O’Rourke.
Long jump specialist Lauren Callaghan from Finn Valley AC was the closest to O’Connor, jumping 6.29m with her last attempt.
“It’s lovely for my coaches too,” added O’Connor, her father Michael a close observer from the stand. “Whenever I go out and do things like that, it shows that the work we’re doing behind the scenes is actually working. I think my coaches don’t give themselves enough credit, but they really know what they’re doing, we’re all delighted with what we’ve produced.”
