Katherine O'Connor (born 12 December 2000)[2] is an Irishtrack and field athlete who competes in the heptathlon and indoor pentathlon for Ireland and Northern Ireland. As of July 2026, O'Connor is the Irish record holder for heptathlon and indoor pentathlon, and the 2026 Commonwealth Games champion in the former.
A European medalist for Ireland at the under-20 age-grade level in 2019, she came to senior prominence by winning a silver medal in the heptathlon at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, representing Northern Ireland.
In 2025 she achieved a breakthrough year, winning four senior international medals across the indoor and outdoor season. She won a bronze medal in the Pentathlon at the 2025 European Indoor Championships, setting a new national record, and a silver at the World Indoor Championships a few weeks later.[3] In the summer, she took gold in the 2025 World University Games, the Universiade in heptathlon. In September 2025, O'Connor won a Heptathlon silver medal at the 2025 World Athletics Championships.
In 2026, her run of success continued as she won a bronze medal representing Ireland in the indoor pentathlon at the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships before winning the gold medal in the 2026 Commonwealth Games heptathlon, once more representing Northern Ireland.
Career
O'Connor has been coached since childhood by her father Michael.[4]
She set a new Irish indoor pentathlon record of 4,683 points at the Tallinn Combined Events meeting in Estonia in February 2025.[13]
O'Connor won a bronze medal in the pentathlon at the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships after winning the 800m race, setting 4 new personal bests in the long jump, high jump, 60m hurdles and in the 800m.[14]
O'Connor won a silver medal in the heptathlon at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, setting a new national record of 6,714 points in the process and registering five personal bests across the seven events.[17][18]
Although raised in Dundalk and a member of Saint Gerard's Athletic Club, O'Connor was born in the nearby city of Newry, in County Down, Northern Ireland. She is therefore eligible by birth to represent Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games. As athletes from Northern Ireland are automatically eligible to represent either Great Britain and Ireland in World Athletics events, representing Northern Ireland does not affect her eligibility to represent Ireland in other competitions.[25]
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Ireland 
Northern Ireland 
