Ireland's Kate O'Connor currently holds second place after two events in the women's heptathlon at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham. The 25-year-old from Newry, who previously claimed gold at the Commonwealth Games, has made a strong start to her campaign for further accolades.

After the morning session, O'Connor trails Poland's Adrianna Sulek-Schubert, who leads with 2135 points. Germany's Sophie Weissenberg sits in third with 2074 points, while Switzerland's Annik Kalin is another 20 points behind.

O'Connor showcased impressive performances, recording a personal best in the 100m hurdles. She finished fourth in heat two with a time of 13:30, placing 11th overall. The race was won by Lithuania's Beatrice Juskeviciute, who achieved a season best of 13:09.

In the high jump, O'Connor matched her personal best at 1.86m, a height also cleared by Sulek-Schubert.

The heptathlon resumes on Friday evening with the shot put scheduled for 19:35 BST and the 200m to follow at 20:55.

In other events, Andrew Coscoran secured his place in the final of the men's 1500m, finishing fourth in his heat with a time of 3:41.86. However, Cathal Doyle expressed disappointment after lodging an appeal following a fall in his heat, despite finishing the race.

Both of Ireland's men's and women's 4x400m relay teams failed to advance to the finals, with the men finishing just one second off the national record.