Kate O’Connor, who produced one of the standout performances of the national indoor championships in the women’s long jump.
O’Connor’s opening-round leap of 6.50m was not only a personal best, but also a championship record.
That jump moved O’Connor to third on the Irish all-time list. It also capped a remarkable weekend following her personal best run in the 60m hurdles (8.21) on Saturday.
“I’ve be training well and I was never going to enter myself into something I’m not training well in” said O’Connor.
“It’s one thing doing well in training, but another thing to come out and do it when you’re under the pressure of competition”.
“You’ve three chances to put in a good attempt as a multi-eventer, so I’m delighted I put that jump in on my first attempt.”
“Last year I made leaps and bounds forward, but I ended last year knowing I had so much more potential.
“I didn’t feel in any way that I had maxed out any of the events and that’s what we’ve been working on all winter. This is my job now and I’m working towards my goals for 2026.”
The track events delivered drama on drama; headlined by the 3000m finals which saw Nick Griggs and Louise Shanahan walk away with the gold medals.
The win saw Griggs claim his first senior indoor title in 8:14.52 following a dramatic final lap. Which saw Griggs battling it out with Darragh McElhinney 8:15.08 after Andrew Coscoran came down on the final bend.
“It’s special to win my first senior title in the circumstances where it was basically a race-off” explained Griggs.
“Who knows what the selectors will do but I’ve secured my auto qualification for the World indoors”.
Griggs takes first national championship gold
“There was a lot more pressure on nationals this year, usually nationals you can go out and enjoy it a bit more, so I’m delighted I was able to deliver on my race plan”.
Louise Shanahan timed her finish to perfection in a thrilling women’s contest. Bursting through in the closing metres in 9:22.47 to add the 3,000m indoor title to last year’s 800m indoor title.
Shanahan came out on top of the thrilling finish to cross ahead of Zoe Toland (CNDR Track AC) 9:22.59 and Michelle Finn (Leevale AC) 9:23.03.
The drama of the day saw Lughaidh Mallon launched a decisive move to pass Luke McCann in the final strides of the 1500m. Mallon captured gold in dramatic fashion in a winning time of 3:43.45.
Sharlene Mawdsley underlined her dominance in the women’s 400m claiming a third consecutive national indoor title in 51.89 seconds.
Bori Akinola (6.60) was in imperious form as he successfully defended his 60m title in 6.60 seconds.
Akinola continued his strong early-season momentum as attention now turns towards the upcoming World Indoor Championships.
The 800m finals were also closely contested with Hannah Seagrave claiming her first senior indoor title in the women’s race.
The men’s event produced a championship highlight, with Cillian Kirwan a hugely popular winner as he stormed to victory in a new championship record time of 1:47.68 CR.
Eric Favors broke the championships record in the men’s shot with 19.57m, while Michaela Walsh picked up her 9th indoor title in a row. Michael Kent retained his title in the men’s pole vault with a best clearance of 4.50m.
