A solid start by Kate O’Connor has got her latest heptathlon medal challenge safely up and running at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
On a damp and breezy morning inside the Scotstoun Stadium in west Glasgow, O’Connor lined up for Northern Ireland in the 100m hurdles for the first time since her silver medal winning exploits in the heptathlon at the World Championships in Tokyo last September. She clocked at time of 13.54 seconds in third place (+0.8 m/s wind).
That was just .10 off her personal best time set in Tokyo, the nine months away from competitive action in this event perhaps showing a little in her start and first half of the race. Sienna MacDonald from Canada, a sprint hurdles specialist, took the win in 12.99 seconds, a world-class time, and leads the way after the first of the seven events on 1,126 points.
Jade O’Dowda from England took second in 13.32, earning her 1,077 points, with O’Connor coming through to take third, and sitting in third overall on 1,044 points. The heptathlon continues later this morning with the high jump.
RM Block
In the first heat, Anna McCauley also of Northern Ireland took the win in a personal best of 13.70 seconds, earning her 1,021 points, and she sits sixth overall after one event.
O’Connor hadn’t competed anywhere since winning her fifth consecutive championship medal within 13 months, bringing home a pentathlon bronze from the World Indoors in Poland in March, and the Dundalk star has now set herself the target of winning two more medals within just over a fortnight, with the European Championships taking place in Birmingham next month.
She is the favourite to win gold come tomorrow evening, following the withdrawal last week of England’s two-time defending champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson.
