O’Connor savours silver after ‘whirlwind’ Worlds

Ireland’s first world track and field medal since Sonia O’Sullivan won 5, 000m gold in 1995 and its first global outdoor medal in the multi-events with five personal bests in the two-day competition.

The 24-year-old, who was born in Newry, won pentathlon bronze at the European Championships, pentathlon silver at the World Indoors, and outdoor heptathlon gold at the World University Games, making a memorable year.

O’Connor, who lay on the track in disbelief after receiving her silver medal at the conclusion of the 800-meter race, said, “I don’t know when it’ll sink in, to be honest.

“The last few days were a whirlwind, and I’ll probably soon become emotional.”

O’Connor faced hardship on Saturday when she injured her knee during the long jump, breaking her record of 100 meters, high jump, and 200 meters to establish herself as a medal contender.

Before the javelin, she had one practice throw because of the injury.

She did however, breaking the “a lot of positive thoughts” to break through the ice and record a personal best of 53.06 meters before claiming silver with a two-minute, 9.56 second PB.

Her 6,714-point total put her in the lead over American gold medalist Anna Hall and ahead of British silver medalists Taliyah Brooks and Katarina Johnson-Thompson, both of whom won.

The final two events were similar to “put your head down and see what happens,” she continued, noting that I actually injured my knee during the long jump.

I feel confident in my abilities and know what I’ve been up to all day long thanks to the excellent team I have around me. Before that javelin competition, I had to believe I could do one practice throw.

After making her Olympic debut in Paris last year, silver represents a significant improvement on the global stage.

She was able to celebrate the victory with her father and her coach Michael O’Connor inside the Japan National Stadium after winning her first World Athletics Championships medal since Rob Heffernan’s 50-kilometer run gold in 2013.

“I just saw him at the end,” he said. Although he claimed earlier in the year that today was probably his most proud day of his life, I’m sure he said that was true!

We travel the world together, win significant medals, and work so closely together, which is very nice.