Kate O’Connor made history at the 2026 Commonwealth Games by becoming Northern Ireland’s first female multi-sports champion in more than five decades. The 25-year-old athlete from Newry secured the gold medal in the heptathlon, delivering a total of 6,569 points over two days of competition at Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow. This marks the first time since Dame Mary Peters in 1974 that a Northern Irish woman has won a multi-event title at the Commonwealth Games.

Although O’Connor typically competes under an Irish jersey in international competitions, she represented Northern Ireland at these Games. In contrast to her silver medal performance behind Katarina Johnson-Thompson at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, O’Connor improved her standing to claim the top prize this year.

England’s Jade O’Dowda earned the silver medal, finishing 291 points behind O’Connor. O’Dowda, who is originally from Oxford and is the sister of Republic of Ireland footballer Callum O’Dowda, held the lead after three of the seven heptathlon disciplines. However, O’Connor gained ground with strong performances in the 200 metres, long jump, and javelin throw. Although O’Dowda started the final event, the 800 metres, with a 258-point advantage—equivalent to roughly 18 seconds—O’Connor’s efforts were enough to maintain her lead and secure the title.

The women’s 800 metres race set for the following day is also drawing significant attention, despite the absence of Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson, who opted to focus on the European Championships in Birmingham. Among the contenders is Georgia Hunter Bell, 32, one of the few world-class competitors remaining in the field at these Games. Hunter Bell aims to avenge a previous defeat by Kenyan runner Lilian Odira, 27, who narrowly outpaced her and Hodgkinson at the World Championships in Tokyo last year. Meanwhile, Scotland’s Jemma Reekie was eliminated during the semifinals.

Other notable performances included home favorite Melanie Woods, who won the women’s 1500 metres T54 final, thrilling the local crowd. In the men’s events, Seamus Derbyshire and Jake Minshull advanced from their heats in the 400 metres hurdles, setting the stage for their upcoming races.