Kate O'Connor

About Kate O'Connor

Kate is a Dundalk, County Louth-based track and field athlete specializing in the heptathlon and indoor pentathlon. She was born in Northern Ireland, and raised in nearby Dundalk, County Louth, in the Republic of Ireland.
She competes for Ireland in most events and for Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games. She is the Irish record holder in both the heptathlon and indoor pentathlon, coached by her father Michael, and a member of Dundalk St Gerard’s Athletic Club.
Her career highlights include European U20 heptathlon silver in 2019, Commonwealth Games heptathlon silver in 2022 and gold in 2026, becoming Ireland’s first Olympic heptathlete with a 14th-place finish at Paris 2024, World Indoor pentathlon silver in 2025 and bronze in 2026, European Indoor pentathlon bronze in 2025, World University Games heptathlon gold in 2025, World Championships heptathlon silver in 2025 with a then-Irish record of 6714 points, and European Championships heptathlon gold in 2026 with a new Irish record of 6751 points. She has also earned multiple national athlete-of-the-year awards.
She studied sport development with coaching at Sheffield Hallam University and completed a master’s in communications and public relations at Ulster University. She is based in Dundalk, where she trains and has strong local roots; she has also spent time in Belfast for studies and does warm-weather training camps such as in Portugal