Ireland’s Kate O’Connor won heptathlon gold at the European Championships in Birmingham, continuing a strong year after her Commonwealth Games victory for Northern Ireland. The result is a significant senior international title for the 25-year-old athlete from Newry.

O’Connor began the final 800m with a 51-point lead over the Netherlands’ Emma Oosterwegel and needed to finish within 3.4 seconds of her rival. Oosterwegel won the race in 2:10.87, while O’Connor finished third in 2:11.74 to secure victory with 6,751 points; Oosterwegel scored 6,713 for silver and Sofie Dokter of the Netherlands took bronze with 6,664.