O’Connor seizes heptathlon lead as Johnson-Thompson falls from contention
Ireland’s Kate O’Connor moves into pole position ahead of the 800m final, while Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson is left out of medal contention. Meanwhile, Amy Hunt targets a third gold in the relay and world records fall in race walking.
Ireland’s Kate O’Connor has taken control of the heptathlon at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, entering the final 800m event with a 51-point advantage over the Netherlands’ Emma Oosterwegel. The Newry-born athlete entered Saturday morning in third place, trailing overnight leader Adrianna Sulek-Schubert by 42 points, but secured the top spot through strong performances in the long jump and javelin.
O’Connor recorded a leap of 6.55m in the long jump and a javelin throw of 50.16m, bringing her total to 5,812 points. This performance pushed her ahead of Oosterwegel, who sits on 5,761 points, while compatriot Sofie Dokter of the Netherlands occupies third place with 5,741 points. Poland’s Sulek-Schubert, who held the overnight lead, dropped to seventh place after a disappointing start to the final day.
The shift in standings has left Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson out of medal contention. The two-time world champion, who entered the day 324 points off the pace in 16th place, struggled with injuries throughout the build-up to the championships. She recorded a long jump of 5.77m and a javelin throw of 36.92m, drifting to 19th place, 780 points behind O’Connor.
GB teammate Jade O’Dowda also faced difficulties, finishing in 13th place, 491 points behind the Irish leader. The heptathlon is set to conclude on Saturday evening with the 800m final scheduled for 19:45 BST, where O’Connor will look to consolidate her lead.
In other events, Great Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell qualified for the women’s 1500m final by winning heat two in 4:08.97. Ireland’s Jodie McCann finished 13th in her heat and did not advance, but teammates Sarah Healy and Sophie O’Sullivan both progressed from heat one.
Great Britain’s Amy Hunt is preparing for the women’s 4x100m relay final at 21:33 BST, where she aims to secure her third gold medal of the championships. Hunt previously won the 100m and 200m titles, and will run alongside Dina Asher-Smith, who is seeking her seventh European gold.
World records were also broken in race walking on Saturday. Italy’s Sofia Fiorini set a new record in the marathon race walk with a time of 3:15:11, while Spain’s Maria Perez Garcia claimed the half-marathon race walk record with a time of 1:30:06.
