Dundalk's O’Connor makes good start at Commonwealth Games

Dundalk native Kate O’Connor made a strong start to her heptathlon campaign at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this morning.

READ NEXT: Ten years on: Paddy Barrett says, "It was a privilege for me to be involved in that 2016 Dundalk FC team"

Representing Northern Ireland, O’Connor clocked 13.54 seconds in the opening 100m hurdles, finishing third and sitting third overall on 1,044 points after the first of seven events.

Her time was just 0.10 seconds outside the personal best she set when winning World Championship silver last September. Canada's Sienna MacDonald won the hurdles in a world-class 12.99 seconds, with England's Jade O’Dowda second in 13.32.

The heptathlon continued with the high jump, where the St. Gerards Dundalk athlete produced a crucial clearance of 1.82m in near-wintry conditions to move into the overall gold medal position.

Her best jump of the day lifted her onto 2,047 points, three clear of O'Dowda. Fellow Northern Ireland athlete Anna McCauley also impressed, clearing 1.73m to remain sixth overall on 1,912 points.

Kate has two more events this evening, which are the Shot Put (7.00 pm) and 200m (8.04 pm).

Wednesday, 29th July

Long Jump (10.05 am), Javelin Throw (12.05 pm), and 800m final event (7.55 pm)