THOMAS LAPPING IT UP IN BERLIN
BARR SETS SIGHTS ON FINAL GLORY
IT wasn’t bad, it wasn’t good, and for Thomas Barr it might have been just the blowout he needed if he is to win a medal tomorrow night at the European Championships in Berlin.
At the Olympic Stadium last night the 26-year-old Waterford athlete powered home to finish second in his semi-final of the men’s 400m hurdles, clocking 49.10 to grab a place in the final. That was a couple of metres down on his 2018 best of 48.99, but enough to convince Barr a medal may still be on the cards.
‘If I can pull out a really good race, on paper, on statistics, yes there’s a medal there,’ he said. ‘But at a championships anything can happen. Anyone can come through with a massive PB. It’s all to play for.’
Given he was ranked in the top 12 this year, Barr received a bye to the semi-finals so did not have to take part in Monday’s heats, but the Ferrybank athlete lashed out at European Athletics last night for taking that decision.
‘I don’t like it and I don’t think it’s fair,’ he said. ‘Especially in the hurdles, someone could fall, someone could false start, someone could mess up their stride pattern and lose their nerve and that’s it — they’re wiped out of the race. It’s one less place for people to falter so I think it should revert back to heat and semi-final for everyone.’
Barr admitted he was struck by nerves as he took to the track in Berlin, but he expects that to be less of an issue in the final, which he will run from the outside lane. ‘The first race is always the worst but when you come into a semifinal or final it’s like, “great, okay let’s go for it now”.’
Elsewhere, Brendan Boyce made a brave bid for glory in the men’s 50km race walk but hit the Berlin wall shortly after halfway. The 31-year-old Donegal man battled through the pain to finish 19th in 4:02:14, 16 minutes behind gold medallist Maryan Zakalytskyy of Ukraine.
‘I thought I may as well have a pop,’ said Boyce. ‘I had to try gain some experience out of the race in some way and I felt that was the best way to do it.
‘That was the toughest race I’ve ever done,’ he said.
Sligo youngster Chris O’Donnell impressed in his senior championship debut yesterday morning, running a season’s best from lane one of 46.81 to finish sixth. There was no joy for Síofra Cléirigh-Buttner or Claire Mooney in the 800m heats. Cléirigh-Buttner finished sixth in 2:02.80 with Mooney fading from first to eighth over the final 200 to clock 2:04.26.
Stephen Scullion came home 23rd in the men’s 10,000m final in 29:46.87, while Phil Healy brought her first assignment of the week to a close when bowing out of the women’s 100m after finishing seventh in her semi-final — and 20th overall — with 11.46.
‘I’m really happy, that’s still one of my quickest runs,’ said the Bandon sprinter.