Kate O'Connor is in second position in the world indoor pentathlon with two events to go, having set two personal bests in a blistering start at Nanjing, China overnight.
The Dundalk multi-eventer started off with her best ever performance in the 60m hurdles, finishing fourth in her heat in a time of 8.30.
She backed it up with a third place finish in the shot putt where she recorded another personal record after a throw of 14.64m.
The European bronze medallist continued her fine form, finishing in joint first in the high jump having cleared 1.81m, a leap which is 3cm short of the 1.84 PB she set in Apeldoorn a fortnight ago.
✨Kate storms to a personal best of 8.30 in the 60m Hurdles, finishing 4th in her heat and secures 1061 points
✨She follows up with an impressive 1.81m clearance in the High Jump, earning 991 points, the highest mark of the competition
✨A stunning PB throw of 14.64m in the… pic.twitter.com/IWFQ5x2COM
— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) March 21, 2025
O'Connor will re-commence competition at 10.42am Irish time in the long jump, having set a pb of 6.27m in the event a fortnight ago.
European champion and heavy favourite Saga Vanninen (Finland) leads the way on 2967 points with O'Connor second on 2889. American duo Taliyah Brooks (2882) and Timara Chapman (2809) and are third and fourth respectively.
Andrew Coscoran and Sophie O'Sullivan both compete in their respective 1500m heats on Friday afternoon, with the likes of European Champion Sarah Healy and Sarah Lavin competing over the weekend, aiming to bring Ireland its first world indoor medal since Derval O'Rourke's gold in Moscow in 2006.
Friday's Irish time-table: World Indoor Championships, live on BBC Two from 10.15am
10.33am: Sophie O’Sullivan, women’s 1,500m heats
10.42am: Kate O’Connor, pentathlon long jump
11.18am: Andrew Coscoran, men’s 1,500m heats
1.15pm: Kate O’Connor, pentathlon 800m
