This has already felt like the longest of athletics years and it’s not over yet. After the indoor and outdoors, spring and autumn marathons, we’re now into the cross-country season with the prospect of more Irish medals at next month’s Europeans in Portugal.
It’s also been the most successful year ever for Irish athletics (21 international medals won so far). This will be reflected in the annual awards – the time of year when athletes are properly celebrated for their achievements.
It all starts later this month with the Athletics Ireland awards, which have been going since 2007 and recognise athletes and coaches across a range of categories. There’s also the addition of the Olympic Sport awards in early December, presented for the first time in a non-Olympic year, and rightly so.
There’s also one of my favourites, The Irish Times/Sport Ireland Sportswomen awards, just before Christmas, along with various other television and newspaper awards.
READ MORE
For some athletes, the awards season can be a novelty, even a welcome distraction, the chance to meet and mix with teammates and athletes from other sports.
I’m giving nothing away when saying Kate O’Connor could be called upon as much as any other Irish sportsperson. Man or woman. What she achieved in 2025 was unique, winning medals in all four of her championship contests – silver and bronze in the World and European indoor pentathlon, gold at the World University Games heptathlon, then that magnificent heptathlon silver at the World Championships in Tokyo. All while smashing her own Irish records.
O’Connor has been nominated for all these main awards. It’s even more special given her father and coach, Michael, has been nominated in many of the coaching categories too. This doesn’t come without some challenges and risks, especially with O’Connor now back into her winter training.
For an athlete like O’Connor, being called upon on a nearly weekly basis over the next month or so can quickly become a draining exercise. It won’t be easy to get the balance right, even for a multi-event specialist like her.
O’Connor is already dealing with her newfound fame as people are recognising her wherever she goes. So far, I don’t think that will have bothered her. All athletes are different in how they handle fame, although it’s not something you ever really get used to.
It does mean you’re going to be engaging with people for a little longer than normal. Not just the people you know. O’Connor’s success in Tokyo was a national success story and no matter where she goes, people will want a picture, or simply want to stop to say hello.
I think it’s possibly an Irish thing too, this emotional connection we have with sport, that people feel they somehow know you just from watching on TV. And it can happen anywhere. I arrived back in Australia this week and was in my local supermarket when I felt someone was looking at me. He eventually circled back around and said hello, adding that the Clonakilty bag gave me away.
For O’Connor, even one or two interrupted weekends attending awards at this time of year can be a distraction. Especially when she’s trying to regain that complete focus and commitment that has helped bring her all this success in the first place. She’ll know that herself, but it will mean weighing up some of these awards and deciding what is best for her. It won’t be practical to attend them all.
I know this from my own experiences down through the years, missing a lot more awards ceremonies than I ever attended. My dad often took my place, probably enjoying the night more than I ever would have at the time. I was already focused on the winter training and what I needed to do to get better again the following season.
The honour is never taken lightly and I know from attending these awards ceremonies in more recent years that it’s just not the same when the successful athletes aren’t there, or else pick up the award via video link while off training somewhere.
It was only in more recent years I was able to embrace these awards. I know the disappointment, too, when the big stars don’t turn up, like an awards night in 2019 when Shane Lowry was up for the big prize after winning the Open in Portrush. I was looking forward to meeting him, but by then he was worn out from the awards circuit. He sent along his father and brother instead, who were more than adequate in their representation of Shane.
[ Kate O’Connor: The making of a world heptathlon medal winnerOpens in new window ]
If you’re a world-class athlete, already thinking ahead to bigger and better things in 2026, you’ll always have that next training session in your head, or the constant need for recovery. The other danger of attending these awards is mixing with lots of people in a room, sometimes spilling late into the night.
I remember being at The Irish Times sportswoman awards luncheon in 2021 and Rachael Blackmore was there to collect the overall award – utterly deserved as the first female jockey to win the Aintree Grand National. She collected her trophy, posed for a few photographs, then promptly left for a race meeting later that afternoon. That was impressive.
Ultimately, the athlete needs to be clear on their training needs at this time of year. That’s the priority, but it’s still important to find the time and space to attend these awards, where possible, while allowing for sufficient recovery afterwards.
