Security scare disrupts European Athletics Championships as O'Connor and Coscoran deliver Irish medals in Birmingham

Security scare disrupts championships

On Saturday night at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, a man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of fraud by West Midlands Police, triggering a security operation that delayed thousands of spectators and athletes leaving Alexander Stadium. The arrest led to the suspension of all championship transport, with buses prevented from leaving the venue for well over an hour. Six medal ceremonies scheduled between 10pm and 11pm were postponed, including the ceremony for heptathlon champion Kate O'Connor, which was pushed to Sunday.

The near-capacity crowd of 23,000 had witnessed Britain's men's and women's 4x100m relay teams both claim gold before the disruption began. Spectator Joanne Ray told The Guardian she started queuing for buses at 9.50pm but did not get on one until 11.15pm, describing mothers with babies and disabled people in electric wheelchairs left "absolutely frozen" with no information. Athletes began queueing for official buses at 10.15pm and did not arrive back at their team hotels in the city centre until 12.45am. A Birmingham 2026 statement posted on X at 11.03pm apologised for the delays, and a further statement confirmed the arrest. Transport returned to normal in the early hours of Sunday.

O'Connor claims heptathlon gold

Kate O'Connor won European heptathlon gold with a points tally of 6,751, a new Irish national record that ranks her second in the world this year. The 25-year-old, coached by her father Michael, led the competition for seven hours before the final 800m event and never allowed Dutch rival Emma Oosterwegel out of sight. O'Connor described the experience as nerve-wracking but drew on years of championship experience to navigate the two days of competition, which included setbacks in the shot put on Friday and the javelin on Saturday.

It's surreal, crazy, amazing, exciting. It's been a dream of mine since I was a kid. A couple of years ago, I would never have thought that I would be standing in this position, European gold medalist.

O'Connor dedicated the medal to her late grandmother, who died during the year. Britain's Katarina Johnson-Thompson, a two-time world champion and Olympic silver medallist, finished 21st out of 21 athletes who completed all seven events. The 33-year-old, competing after an injury-hit year, said she still has the hunger to compete at the top level.

Coscoran earns 1500m bronze

Approximately 70 minutes after O'Connor's gold, Andrew Coscoran secured 1500m bronze in 3:36.24, his first European Championship medal after four previous final appearances. The 30-year-old from Balbriggan sat eighth on the backstraight before finding a gap on the home straight, covering the final 100m in 12.86 seconds. The Netherlands' Stefen Nillessen took gold in 3:35.70, with Sweden's Samuel Pihlström claiming silver in 3:36.16.

The bronze was Ireland's fourth medal of these championships, equaling their best ever European performance from Rome two years ago. By a different measure, Birmingham has surpassed Rome, as Ireland had never previously won four individual medals at a single European Championship.

Marathon results

In the women's marathon, Finland's Alisa Vainio took gold in 2:22.26, a new championship record, finishing nearly five minutes ahead of Hungary's Lili Anna Vindics-Toth (2:27.21). Great Britain's Lili Abbie Donnelly was third in 2:27.33. Ireland's Fionnuala McCormack, 42, withdrew shortly after 10km in her first European appearance since 2014.

Germany's Amanal Petros won the men's marathon in 2:09.11, ahead of Italy's Pletro Riva (2:09.18) and Israel's Gashau Ayale (2:09.21). Paul O'Donnell was the only Irish competitor to finish, placing 43rd in 2:20.41.