O'Connor: “I feel really proud to be Irish”

Dundalk’s Kate O’Connor secured a stunning silver medal for Ireland in the women’s heptathlon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this afternoon.

She delivered a series of incredible performances across the two days and overcame injury worries to secure Ireland’s first outdoor world medal in decades.

READ NEXT: Dundalk's history maker Kate O'Connor wins silver medal on global stage

Emotional in the immediate aftermath, O’Connor’s pride in herself, her team, and her country shone through. Still catching her breath, she admitted the scale of her achievement hadn’t fully sunk in.

Speaking with RTE, she said, “To be honest, I think it's going to take a few days, maybe a few weeks for this to settle in. We've worked so hard over the last little while, and I'm so proud of me, I'm so proud of the team that have been around me.

“None of this would be able to happen without the people that I have working with. I have to thank them all so, so much because it just wouldn't be possible without them.”

Injury

Despite carrying a niggling knee injury on her second day, the 24-year-old showed remarkable composure as she set her ambitious targets from the outset.

“I kind of came into these championships, and I said to myself, if I scored below 6.6, I would be disappointed in myself. I actually don't even know what I ended up scoring, but I'm pretty sure it was over that.

“Yesterday, I had the day from dreams, and I genuinely enjoyed every single second of that competition. I obviously was in second position afterwards. Then today, I had a pretty solid long jump, but on the last jump, I really hurt my knee.

“I didn't know what was going to happen in that javelin. I said earlier in an interview that, again, the team that were around me were filling me with positive thoughts.

“I did one practice before that javelin competition, and I was just going off pure vibes from them guys telling me that I could go out and do it.

“I'm going to pull it together. Then a PB in the 800, too. I don't know why I was just running off pure adrenaline because, again, my knee isn't in the best of shape.

“I'm just so happy that I was able to represent Ireland so well and be the first person in a long time to win a world medal outdoors for our country.

“It's insane. I think that, again, the work that's going on behind the scenes, I suppose it's just lovely that it's coming out now at the world stage.”

Digging deep

When it mattered most in the final 800m, O’Connor dug deep, chasing down her rivals with sheer determination.

“I was just watching the back of Kat (Johnson-Thompson). I was like, don't let her get more than 10 seconds ahead of you. I went into it, and I really wanted the silver medal.

“I wasn't going to settle just for the bronze. I just decided that I was going to give it my absolute everything. I fought so hard for the last two days.

“I was never going to go down without a fight. I'm a severe competitor. I'm going to fight for every single point that's out there. I think I did that over the last two days. I managed to get this bad boy (silver medal).”

National pride

As the dust settled, O’Connor reflected on her historic performance and what it meant to represent Ireland on the world stage.

“I feel ecstatic. I feel proud. I feel really proud to be Irish. I just want to thank everybody at home for watching, supporting and believing in me. These sort of things don't happen without support and love from your country.”

Dad and coach

O’Connor’s father and coach, Michael, also spoke of his pride after another unforgettable moment in his daughter’s career.

“There just seems to have been so many fantastic days. I don't know where it's going to stop. It's been absolutely brilliant. Four major, major medals. But what can I say about this girl? She's just incredible.”