‘Nothing is ever over until it's over’ says Olympian Kate O’Connor

​A heptathlon requires an athlete to compete in seven different events: 100-meter hurdles, the high jump, the shot put, the 200-meter dash, the long jump, the javelin throw, and the 800-meter run.

Thus, it is extremely challenging most physically and mentally.

“It's a really tough event and sometimes I don't think people fully understand what it's like,” said O’Connor.

“Training-wise it's different from doing one event, because you have to be one of the best in the world at seven different events. I train as though it's a full-time job, because I start at 9am and finish at 5pm.

“Competition-wise it is physically draining, because there are so many times where you have to warm up, so many times where you have to cool down.

“The days are really long. At major events they usually start around nine in the morning and we have to be at the venue for six, so we're up at five. You take a lot of caffeine throughout the day so you're not able to get much sleep, then you have to come back and do it again the next day.

“So, yes physically it is very demanding, but then there is the mental side of it too which is a whole different ball game. But it is something which I have definitely gotten better at as the years have gone on.

“When I was younger, if an event didn't go well I would throw a strop and I would cry and walk away, 'it's over, I don't want to do this any more'. But something that multi-events has thought me is that you have to be able to deal with the highs and the lows. Nothing is ever over until it's over.

“But it's the same when something goes really well. I have got to be able to control my emotions because I have got to turn up six more times and still perform well.

“I've definitely not mastered it yet, but it is something which I have gotten better at, and will hopefully continue getting better at.”

This past summer, she achieved her dream by qualifying for the Olympic Games in Paris, but as she explains, it was far from an easy road to get there.

“It's hard to put into words really,” she said.

“It was one of the best experiences of my whole, entire life. When anyone starts in sport, the Olympics is somewhere where you want to get to. Whether you get there or not is always the question.

“I did get there, but it wasn't easy. I have two stories, and the first one starts back during Covid when the Tokyo Olympics was postponed by a year. Elite athletes were allowed to travel around to try and qualify for the Olympics, and I was allowed to travel to Italy.

“I had been training all the way through Covid, so I was in really good shape and was ready to compete. I performed out of my skin, broke the national record and when I finished that event I was the sixth best heptathlete in the world.

“I was 19 at this stage, and I thought 'wow, the Olympics is really on'. I had one more heptathlon to do in Spain, and everyone was in really high spirits. Basically all I had to do was complete one more heptathlon and I was going to the Olympics.

“I flew over to Spain with a niggle in my foot but I pushed that to the back of my mind, strapped my foot up and got to the 200 metres which is the last event on Day 2, and halfway around the bend I felt this extreme pain in my foot and I couldn't put another foot forward.

“I felt heartbreak, because I knew that my season was over due to a stress fracture in my foot, and I had to watch that Olympics from home, which was really tough.”

However, O’Connor showed tremendous perseverance and determination in overcoming two more injuries to make the Team Ireland squad.

“I had a great team around me and they really lifted me up,” she said.

“I had a fire in my belly and I was determined to make it in 2024, but again this year was not an easy road to make the Olympics. At the end of 2023 I was in the gym doing regular testing that we do every four weeks, and I landed on the side of my ankle and ruptured two of my ligaments and I was told that my season was over.

“I had put in so much work and worked so hard all winter, and again I was told that it wasn’t happening. But behind the scenes my team said that they were going to work as hard as they could to get me back – and thankfully it worked.

“It then came down to the last heptathlon – 24 people go and I was in the 26th spot – and 10 days out I tore my hamstring. But my team had so much belief in me, which I didn’t have, but they made me believe, by visualising training everyday.

“Somehow, I ended scoring the second-best score I have ever got and I qualified for the Olympics.”

O’Connor finished by giving some words of wisdom, which all young athletes can learn from.

“Just keep turning up. If you do that, you will get out what you put in,” she said.

“I think a big thing is just having fun, because sport is supposed to be fun. Enjoy your sport because it will fly past probably quicker than you might realise.