Kate O'Connor and Mark English both won bronze medals on a day to savour for Irish competitors at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in the Netherlands.
O'Connor secured personal bests in several events in the pentathlon to achieve a podium place.
She needed a strong finish in the concluding 800m and won the race in a personal best of 2:11.42 to achieve an overall points tally of 4781, breaking her own national record in the process.
Kate O'Connor ran an aggressive final event in the pentathlon and it paid dividends as she ran an 800m personal best to secure a bronze medal at the European Indoor Championships.
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 9, 2025
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Flanked by her coach and father Michael, the 24-year-old reflected on claiming a European medal.
"All those girls out there are professionals, the top two and the girl that finished below me," she said. "I'm studying to do a master's, I'm doing athletics on the side.
"To be able to finish up there with the top girls and get a bronze medal for my country is absolutely unbelievable."
Mark English battled all the way to the line to secure a bronze medal in the 800 metres at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Apeldoorn.
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Earlier, Mark English added a bronze of his own to his impressive medal collection after finishing third in the 800m.
The Letterkenny man finished in a time of 1:45.46 as Samuel Chapple won gold on home soil in 1:44.88, with Eliott Crestan of Belgium filling the the runner-up berth.
English has never failed to medal when making a European final, be it indoor or outdoor, and that continental medal haul now features four bronzes and a silver, with his runner-up position achieved at the European Indoors in Prague a decade ago.
'As time goes on, I'll really start to appreciate what I've done' - Mark English talks to @DavidGillick after winning his fifth European medal and his third at indoors
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"I really wanted the gold, but I'm really happy to come away with a medal," he said afterwards. "You have to be at this level. I'm very thankful.
"As time goes on, I'll really start to appreciate what I've done."
