Ireland's Kate O'Connor is on the brink of a major victory at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, holding a 51-point lead heading into the final event of the heptathlon.
The 25-year-old from Newry, County Down, started Saturday morning in third place, 42 points behind overnight leader Adrianna Sulek-Schubert of Poland. But she turned her fortunes around with two outstanding performances to take control of the competition. O'Connor leapt 6.55 meters in the long jump, then threw 50.16 meters in the javelin — both personal bests. Those marks helped lift her to 5,812 points overall, 51 points clear of Emma Oosterwegel of the Netherlands with 5,761 points. A second Dutch athlete, Sofie Dokter, sits in third with 5,741 points.
"I just had to keep fighting and stay focused," O'Connor said after her javelin throw. "I'm in a good position now."
The heptathlon is a grueling two-day contest made up of seven events: the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 meters, long jump, javelin, and 800 meters. Athletes earn points for their performance in each event, and the person with the most points overall wins. O'Connor still has the 800 meters to run Saturday evening, and a solid race could seal Ireland's first European heptathlon gold.
Her biggest challenger, Oosterwegel, will need to run a significantly faster 800 meters than O'Connor to overcome that 51-point gap. It's a tall order, especially for a competitor who specializes more in the throwing events.
Meanwhile, two-time world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson of Great Britain had a tough day. The 33-year-old, dealing with an injury-hit buildup to the championships, managed just 5.77 meters in the long jump and 36.92 meters in the javelin. She slipped to 19th place, 780 points behind O'Connor.
The final race of the heptathlon — the 800 meters — is scheduled for 7:45 PM BST on Saturday evening.