Irish Athlete Ready to Compete in Torun

The World Athletics Indoor Championships are underway at the Kujawsko-Pomorska Arena in Torun, Poland. The event features 670 athletes from 110 nations, marking the only senior global track-and-field championship of 2026.

Ireland’s Kate O’Connor is a key contender, set to compete in Sunday’s pentathlon. She is coming off a successful 2025, earning four medals from four competitions.

O’Connor’s Recent Successes

O’Connor has demonstrated significant improvement, achieving lifetime bests in the 60m hurdles (8.21 seconds) and the long jump (6.50m) at the National Indoors three weeks ago. This follows a silver medal in the pentathlon at the World Indoors in China and a silver in the heptathlon at the World Championships in Japan.

Competition Outlook

Anna Hall of the United States, a heptathlon medalist, is also competing. Hall’s personal best of 5,004 points is higher than O’Connor’s best of 4,781.

“I’ve wanted to do World Indoors for a very long time,”

Anna Hall

The multi-event discipline is known for its unpredictable nature, with fortunes shifting quickly.

Other Irish Athletes in Action

Although some Irish athletes are focusing on the European Championships in Birmingham, five Irish athletes are competing on the opening day. Bori Akinola will compete in the 60m heats, while Mark English begins his 800m quest. Maeve O’Neill and Emma Moore will also compete in the 800m heats, and James Gormley will race in the 1,500m heats.

Mark English, with five European medals, is a seasoned competitor. He recently set a new Irish indoor record in the 800m with a time of 1:44.23.

Irish Athletes – Friday Schedule (Irish Time)

• Bori Akinola – Men’s 60m Heats – 9:20
• Maeve O’Neill, Emma Moore – Women’s 800m Heats – 11:51
• Mark English – Men’s 800m Heats – 12:26
• James Gormley – Men’s 1,500m Heats – 17:54
• Men’s 60m – SF – 19:16
• Men’s 60m – Final – 20:22

World Athletics President on Poland

“Athletics is one of the most loved sports in Poland, if not the most-loved sport.”

Sebastian Coe, World Athletics president

Poland also has pentathlon contenders in Paulina Ligarska and Adrianna Sułek-Schubert.