European Athletics Championships – Birmingham – Day 6, August 15
Kate O’Connor of Ireland celebrates with her gold medal after winning the women’s heptathlon during day six of the European Athletics Championships 2026 at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, England. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
Kate O’Connor produced a magnificent seven-event performance to be crowned European heptathlon champion before Andrew Coscoran stormed to a brilliant 1500m bronze on another historic night for Team Ireland at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham.
O’Connor (Dundalk St Gerard’s AC) this evening’s concluding 800m with a 51-point advantage and held her nerve superbly, finishing third in 2:11.74 to secure her first European outdoor title.
The 25-year-old finished with a lifetime-best total of 6,751 points, 38 points clear of Dutch athlete Emma Oosterwegel, with Sofie Dokter completing the podium.
Kate O’Connor (IRL) – 6,751 points NR Emma Oosterwegel (NED) – 6,713 points PB Sofie Dokter (NED) – 6,664 points PB O’Connor’s triumph was built on two outstanding days of competition.
She opened on Friday with a personal best of 13.30 in the 100m hurdles, collecting 1,080 points, before matching her high jump best with a clutch third-attempt clearance at 1.86m for another 1,054 points.
A final-round effort of 13.96m in the shot put added 791 points before another personal best of 23.79 in the 200m brought her opening day to a close.
O’Connor began Saturday 42 points off the lead but quickly transformed the complexion of the competition.
A superb 6.55m (+2.0m/s) personal best in the long jump was followed by a 50.16m javelin effort with her very first throw, earning 863 points and putting the Irishwoman 51 points clear heading into the decisive 800m.
Oosterwegel needed to finish approximately three-and-a-half seconds ahead of O’Connor in the final event to overhaul the Irish athlete, but O’Connor never allowed her gold-medal position to come under serious threat.
She remained close to her Dutch rival throughout before crossing the line third in 2:11.74, collecting another 939 points and sealing European gold.
“When I heard cheers like that for me going around those two laps, there was no way I was going to let that gold medal slip through my fingers,” O’Connor told RTÉ Sport.
“I was very conscious that there were two Dutch girls on my outside. Tactics really do come into play there, so I had to make sure I got myself into a safe spot.
"I know some of the girls aren't afraid to bump and barge. I really wanted to make sure I got my spot and no one was going to ram me out of there, and then it was a case of settling in and following the tactics we had set out.
“I did really want to win that 800m race, but with 50 metres to go I knew I had it in me to stay within the three seconds. I just wanted to cruise home and make sure I leave here injury-free and with a gold medal around my neck.”
O’Connor also dedicated the victory to her late grandmother and paid tribute to her father and coach, Michael.
“This year has been really tough for me personally. My Granny died during the year and I don't think I give my Dad enough credit.
"It really hit home for him big time and the way he still turned up to training day-in, day-out – because this is my dream, but it's also a dream for him too.
“I have to dedicate this medal to my Granny because she was both of our biggest fans and she would have been jumping for joy if she was here to see this.”
O’Connor’s gold continues a remarkable period which has now seen her claim seven major championship medals since the beginning of 2025:
Andrew Coscoran (Star of the Sea AC) added a fourth Irish medal of these championships with a superb bronze in a dramatic men’s 1500m final.
The Dubliner delivered a brave and composed performance to claim his first senior major outdoor championship medal in 3:36.24.
Coscoran remained in contention throughout a fiercely competitive final but found himself back in seventh position during the last lap as the medals appeared to be moving out of reach.
Spotting an opening on the inside approaching the closing stages, Coscoran committed to the move and produced a superb finish to surge through the field and onto the European podium.
Netherlands' Stefan Nillessen claimed gold in 3:35.70, Sweden's Samuel Pihlström took silver in 3:36.16, with Coscoran just eight hundredths further back for bronze in 3:36.24.
“It all just clicked on the day. My preparation was really good,” said Coscoran.
“I have to thank my team of pacers over the last while. I've been going through a bit of a tough time with things and all the lads have been out on the bikes with me, pacing me and really helping me.
“That's a product of a lot of work over the years. A lot of strength work, a lot of speed work. It eventually paid off. That's class.”
On the decisive move which ultimately delivered his medal, Coscoran added: “A lot of the time it can open up. It's a split-second decision on the back straight whether to go up the inside or go around the outside.
“It opened up on the inside and I made a split-second decision to go. It's a risk. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but today it did. I'm sitting here with a bronze medal.”
The result brought Ireland's medal tally in Birmingham to four, following gold medals for Mark English and O’Connor, silver for Rhasidat Adeleke and bronze for Coscoran.
Ireland also had the distinction of fielding teams in both the men's and women's 4x100m finals following impressive performances in Saturday's opening rounds.
The women's quartet of Lucy-May Sleeman, Ciara Neville, Sarah Leahy and Lauren Roy produced a superb 43.13 national record in their heat, finishing fourth and advancing to the final as the fastest non-automatic qualifier.
The same quartet returned for the evening final, finishing seventh in Europe in 44.18 to cap an excellent day for the Irish women's sprint programme.
The men's team of Bori Akinola, Sean Aigboboh, Marcus Lawler and Israel Olatunde also secured a European final appearance after clocking a season's best 39.13 for fourth in their heat.
They returned to finish seventh in the final in 40.26, with an unfortunate opening changeover impacting their chances of reproducing their earlier time.
Nevertheless, the sight of both Irish 4x100m teams contesting European finals provided another hugely encouraging marker for the country's sprint programme.
Jack O’Leary (Mullingar Harriers) produced a superbly judged performance to secure a top-ten finish in the men's 10,000m final.
O’Leary found himself in 17th position at halfway but worked his way steadily through the field over the second half of the race.
His persistence was rewarded with 10th place in a season's best 28:24.89, completing an impressive championship performance.
David Kenny (Farranfore-Maine Valley AC) and Oisín Lane (Mullingar Harriers) got Ireland's penultimate day off to an excellent start with two personal best performances in the men's half marathon race walk.
Kenny was in contention throughout on his debut over the distance and produced a superb 1:24:49 PB to finish sixth in Europe, just one minute outside the medals at his first European Championships.
Lane delivered an equally encouraging performance, taking almost three minutes from his previous best to finish 11th in 1:27:09.
The Mullingar Harriers athlete paced his race impressively, moving from 17th at halfway to 11th by the finish.
Spain's Paul McGrath claimed gold in 1:23:23, ahead of Italy's Francesco Fortunato (1:23:36) and Andrea Cosi (1:23:49).
Sarah Healy (UCD AC) and Sophie O’Sullivan (Ballymore Cobh AC) both safely secured their places in the women's 1500m final.
Healy, fourth in the 5000m earlier in the championships, finished second in her opening-round heat in 4:08.12 to claim automatic progression.
O’Sullivan joined her in advancing from the same heat, clocking 4:08.88 for fifth.
Jodie McCann (Dublin City Harriers AC) completed the Irish involvement in the opening round, finishing 13th in the first heat in 4:14.63, which was not enough to progress.
David Kenny – Half Marathon Race Walk – Final – 1:24:49 PB (6th) Oisin Lane – Half Marathon Race Walk – Final – 1:27:09 PB (11th) Kate O’Connor – Women’s Heptathlon – Long Jump - 6.55m (+2.0 m/s) PB (1023 points) Kate O’Connor - Women’s Heptathlon – Javelin Throw - 50.16 (863 points) Sarah Healy – Women's 1500m – Round One H2 – 4:08.12 Q (2nd, advances to final) Sophie O’Sullivan - Women’s 1500m – Round One H2 – 4:08.88 Q (5th, advances to final) Jodie McCann – Women's 1500m – Round One H1 – 4:14.63 (13th, did not advance) Women’s 4x100m Relay - Round One Heat 1 – 43.13 NR q (4th, advance to final) Men’s 4x100m Relay – Round One Heat 2 - 39.13 SB q (4th, advanced to final) Kate O’Connor – Women’s Heptathlon - 800m – 2:11.74 (939 points) Kate O’Connor – Women’s Heptathlon – 6751 points NR - GOLD Jack O’Leary - Men’s 10,000m – Final – 28:24.89 SB (10th) Andrew Coscoran – Men's 1500m – Final – 3:36.24 (BRONZE) Men’s 4x100m Relay – Final – 40.26 (7th) Women’s 4x100m Relay – Final – 44.18 (7th).
Fionnuala McCormack – Women’s Marathon – Final – 07:30 Paul O'Donnell – Men’s Marathon – Final - 08:10 Ryan Creech – Men's Marathon – Final – 08:10 David McGlynn – Men's Marathon – Final – 08:10
Sarah Healy – Women’s 1500m – Final – 21:13 Sophie O’Sullivan - Women’s 1500m – Final – 21:13.
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