Historic Medals and World Championships Ahead
It was a landmark weekend for Team Ireland across multiple sports. Kate O’Connor made history with silver at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, while Ireland’s sailors claimed gold and silver at the Grand Slam Final in the Netherlands, and the eventing team ended a 30-year wait for a European medal.
Looking ahead, two more major campaigns get underway this week, with Irish athletes in action at the World Rowing Championships in Shanghai and the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda.
Athletics
O’Connor Makes History with Heptathlon Silver
Kate O’Connor delivered Ireland’s first ever global medal in a multi-discipline event, winning silver in the women’s heptathlon at the World Championships in Tokyo.
O’Connor set a new Irish record of 6,714 points, producing five personal bests despite carrying a knee injury.
“It’s insane, words can’t describe the way that I feel or the year that I’ve had. My indoor season was a complete dream, and I wanted to carry that form into the outdoors… I was always going to fight 100% to the line.” Kate O’Connor
Meanwhile, Cian McPhillips broke the Irish record twice on his way to fourth in the men’s 800m final, running 1:42.15.
“It would have been nice to get a medal, but we’ll leave that for next time. I’ve taken another second off my PB and was the first European home… Mixing it with the world’s best gives me huge confidence for the future.” Cian McPhillips
World Champs Results Summary
- Kate O’Connor – Women’s Heptathlon – 2nd (NR)
- Cian McPhillips – Men’s 800m – 4th (NR x 2)
- Fionnuala McCormack – Women’s Marathon (Final) – 9th
- Sarah Healy – Women’s 1500m (Final) – 10th
- Nicola Tuthill – Women’s Hammer Throw (Final) – 11th
- Mixed 4x400m Relay – 11th
- Andrew Coscoran – Men’s 1500m – 12th
- Sarah Lavin – Women’s 100m Hurdles – 13th
- Women’s 4x400m Relay – 16th
- Mark English – Men’s 800m – 18th
- Efrem Gidey – Men’s 10,000m (Final) – 19th
- Sharlene Mawdsley – Women’s 400m – 20th
- Sophie O’Sullivan – Women’s 1500m – 22nd
- Peter Lynch – Men’s Marathon (Final) – 24th
- Brian Fay – Men’s 5000m – 26th
- Darragh McElhinney – Men’s 5000m – 28th
- Oisin Lane – Men’s 35km Race Walk (Final) – 28th
- Eric Favors – Men’s Shot Put – 28th
- Andrew Coscoran – Men’s 5000m – 37th
- Sophie Becker – Women’s 400m – 37th
- Cathal Doyle – Men’s 1500m – 42nd
- Laura Nicholson – Women’s 1500m – 50th
- Hiko Tonosa – Men’s Marathon (Final) – DNF
- David Kenny – Men’s 20km Race Walk – DNS
Ireland’s World Championship Medals
- 1983 – Eamonn Coghlan, GOLD, 5,000m
- 1993 – Sonia O’Sullivan, SILVER, 1500m
- 1995 – Sonia O’Sullivan, GOLD, 5,000m
- 2003 – Gillian O’Sullivan, SILVER, 20km Walk
- 2009 – Olive Loughnane, GOLD, 20km Walk
- 2013 – Robert Heffernan, GOLD, 50km Walk
- 2025 – Kate O’Connor, SILVER, Heptathlon
Equestrian
Irish Eventing Team Claim European Silver
Ireland’s eventing team ended a 30-year wait for a European medal by winning silver at the FEI European Championships at Blenheim Palace.
The quartet of Ian Cassells (Millridge Atlantis, ISH), Aoife Clark (Full Monty De Lacense), Padraig McCarthy (Pomp ‘n’ Circumstance), and Robbie Kearns (Chance Encounter, ISH) surged from seventh after dressage to second overall with strong cross-country and showjumping rounds.
Final team score: 161.9 (Silver)
Germany: 124.9 (Gold)
France: 167.5 (Bronze)
Individually, Padraig McCarthy finished 12th, with Ian Cassells (14th), Sarah Ennis (15th), and Robbie Kearns (18th) also inside the top 20.
It is Ireland’s first European silver since 1991 and first team medal since 1995, adding to a proud tradition that includes team gold in 1979.
Sailing
Gold and Silver at Grand Slam Final
Ireland ended its ILCA sailing season on a high with Finn Lynch winning gold in the ILCA 7 and Eve McMahon taking silver in the ILCA 6 at the Sailing Grand Slam Final in Almere, Netherlands.
“The final race was a strange one, we had 50-degree shifts in the wind, and I was last on the second lap,” said Lynch. “But the boys ahead didn’t see a mark change that I spotted, and I managed to slip through for the win… it’s fantastic to end the season with a Gold medal.”
McMahon, who dominated much of the week, was narrowly beaten by Poland’s Agata Barwinska on the final day.
“Eve sailed brilliantly all week,” said coach Vasilij Zbogar. “This new format is very exciting but also unforgiving—there’s no room for mistakes… a Silver medal is an excellent result.”
The results bring Ireland’s tally in the inaugural Grand Slam series to five podium finishes, part of a seven-medal international season.
Next up: Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove contest the 49er World Championships in Sardinia this October.
Rowing Ireland in Action at World Championships, Shanghai
It’s been a strong start for Ireland’s rowers at the World Rowing Championships in Shanghai, with several standout performances across the opening heats.
Fintan McCarthy and Philip Doyle looked sharp in the men’s double sculls, winning their heat to qualify directly for the semi-finals. They now face Olympic champions Romania, the fastest of the heat winners, in Wednesday’s semi-final (04:11 Irish time).
Fiona Murtagh also advanced smoothly, overcoming a slow start to win her heat of the women’s single sculls by 5.74 seconds. She will race her semi-final on Friday (05:42 Irish time).
Konan Pazzaia produced a superb late push to finish second in his heat of the men’s single scull, earning direct passage to the quarter-finals. He races again on Wednesday (03:40 Irish time).
Other Irish crews:
– Women’s Double (Zoe Hyde & Mags Cremen): 4th in their heat, missing out on A Final qualification.
– Women’s Four (Natalie Long, Emma Waters, Imogen Magner & Aisling Hayes): 4th in their heat, also outside A Final spots.
– Men’s Pair (Nathan Timoney & Ross Corrigan): 2nd in their heat, into the semi-finals.
– Men’s Quad (Andrew Sheehan, Adam Murphy, Brian Colsh & Ronan Byrne): 4th in their heat, into the C Final.
Cycling Ireland at the UCI Road World Championships, Rwanda
Ireland has named a six-man elite team for the UCI Road World Championships in Kigali: Ben Healy, Eddie Dunbar, Ryan Mullen, Darren Rafferty and Rory Townsend.
Latest results so far:
– Darren Rafferty – 23rd in the Time Trial
– Ryan Mullen – 26th in the Time Trial
With the road races still to come, Ireland will be well represented in one of the most challenging and exciting courses in recent memory.