O’Rourke defies injury to claim fifth at European Triathlon Championships
Carlow's Amy O'Rourke during the 5km run at the 2026 Europe Triathlon Championships.
17-year-old Amy O’Rourke from Carlow Town is fresh off representing Ireland on the international stage, more than holding her own against some of Europe’s best athletes.
O’Rourke was wearing Irish green as she travelled to Port of Tarragona in the north-east of Spain where she competed in the 2026 Europe Triathlon Championships.
The Carlow athlete battled through a difficult injury foot injury to emerge from the race in fifth place – an amazing performance from the teenager.
Up first was the 750m swim, where O’Rourke went with the gold caps in the second wave and finished seventh overall.
20km on the bike was to follow, with the Carlow athlete riding fantastically well, averaging 34km/hour as she climbed to fourth place overall.
Her foot injury began to take its toll in the 5km run, with a late overtake seeing her drop to fifth place overall, only just missing out on a coveted place on the podium.
Speaking to The Nationalist, a very proud father, David O’Rourke, described the race.
“Amy did really well. She had an injury going into it - something wrong with her foot, she has to go get an X-ray on it now - but she done really well, even with the injury. It's not once in a lifetime thing, but it's the start of something big for her,” he said.
O’Rourke qualified to represent Ireland in 2026 thanks to a remarkable set of domestic results last year, winning gold medals at both the Duathlon National Championships and the Aquabike National Championships, as well as claiming bronze in the Triathlon Ireland Varsity Series.
The Carlow teenager still finds time for another sport, playing for her local club, Éire Óg as well as representing the Carlow ladies minors, with her father saying, “Amy was picked on the panel there this year for the whole. She’s mostly a sub now in fairness, but she got on for a few games and she was delighted with that as well. She's normally a half forward, but the County kind of use her half back – she has shocking endurance for running, you know.”
