Ireland won two more medals at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham on Saturday evening.
Kate O’Connor won GOLD in heptathlon, while Andrew Coscoran won BRONZE in the Men’s 1500m Final.
A silver medallist at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in 2025, O’Connor came into this evening’s final event, the 800m, in the gold medal position, and needed to finish the race within three second of her main rival, Emma Oosterwegel from The Netherlands, to take the gold.
KATE O’CONNOR IS A EUROPEAN GOLD MEDALLIST!
Not only that, she’s beaten the Irish national record.
She has well and truly written herself into the history books.
Watch all the action on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. pic.twitter.com/ydRy8ILcRL
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 15, 2026
The Dutch athlete did her best to take the time out of O’Connor as she led into the final straight and moved on to claim victory in the heptathlon 800m in 2:10.87.
O’Connor, however, was within a minute of Oosterwegel, crossing the line in 2:11.11, ensuring she claimed the heptathlon gold medal. Sveva Gerevini from Italy, who injected pace into the race down the far side of the track, took second in the race in a time of 2:11.11.
“When I heard the cheers”
Giving her reaction to RTÉ Sport after her latest gold medal triumph, the St Gerard’s AC athlete said:
“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
“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.”
“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.”
Kate O’Connor talks to David Gillick after securing European gold in the heptathlon.
Watch live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. pic.twitter.com/6ye47GKmh6
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 15, 2026
The overall result of the women’s heptathlon was gold for O’Connor with 6,751 points, a new National Record. Silver and Bronze went to The Netherlands, with Emma Oosterwegel second with a personal best score of 6,713 points, and Sofie Dokter also claiming a personal best with 6,664 points.
Highly decorated star
In just a very short space of time, Kate O’Connor has become one of Ireland’s most decorated sports stars, winning four medals in 2025 and three this year.
Last year, O’Connor took bronze in the pentathlon at the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, silver in the pentathlon at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, silver in the heptathlon at the World Championships in Tokyo, and gold in the heptathlon at the World University Games in Bochum.
2026 had been gold medals all the way for the Newry-born performer with wins in the pentathlon at the World Indoor Championships in Toruń, the heptathlon at the recent Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and now another heptathlon victory at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham.
Coscoran Bronze in Men’s 1500m Final
Andrew Coscoran won a surprise bronze medal in the Men’s 1500 Final this evening.
The Balbriggan native and two-time Olympian finished behind Stefan Nillessen of The Netherlands and Samuel Pihlstrom from Sweden.
The gold medallist clocked 3:35.70, with the runner-up 3:36.16, while the Irish record holder at both 1500m and 3000m, Coscoran, stopped the clock at 3:36.24.
🥇 Stefan Nillessen 🇳🇱 wins GOLD in the men’s 1500m at the European Championships in 3:35.70s.
He made a huge sprint over the final 100m to take the title.
🥈 Samuel Pihlström 🇸🇪 in 3:36.16s.
🥉 Andrew Coscoran 🇮🇪 in 3:36.24s. pic.twitter.com/SeHvehrUAt— SprintForge (@Tweeterfinger1) August 15, 2026
“I’m sitting here with a bronze medal”
Discussing his preparation for these championships, the Star of the Sea AC man said:
“It all just clicked on the day. My preparation was really good. 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.”
Commenting on tonight’s race, he admitted:
“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.”
