O’Connor said she had never competed in rain as heavy as the downpour that hit Glasgow on Tuesday evening, and admitted she struggled with the elements in the shot put.
“It just kept slipping out of my hands and when your chalk gets wet, you might as well have dish soap on your hands,” world silver medallist O’Connor told BBC Sport.
“I’m gutted with it to be honest and when I talk about it, I feel a bit emotional because I’ve made it a lot easier for the rest of them to beat me, so I’ve got to work really hard now.”
But O’Connor’s performance in the 200m was scintillating, and she mastered the conditions on track to take an overnight lead.
“I went out and I ran really quick in that, I threw the gauntlet down and ran as fast as I could to make it difficult for the rest of the girls,” she added.
“If the sun was shining and it was a nice warm day, I would have been gutted with that time because I’ve been running quick in training.
“But considering it’s lashing rain and freezing cold out there and I had 10 minutes to warm up, I am delighted with that performance.”
Northern Ireland’s Anna McCauley holds sixth place after she won the second heat of the 200m, and is within 39 points of a bronze medal.
Prior to that, McCauley had finished sixth in the hurdles and high jump, and posted the seventh-best distance in the shot put with 12.13m.
