Sunday 1st - Tokyo 2020 Report

POSTED:

It was another sweltering day at the Olympic Stadium as three Irish athletes took to the track across the morning and afternoon sessions.

Thomas Barr (Ferrybank AC) ran an astonishing race in the semi-final of the 400m hurdles to produce the second fastest time of his career (48.26), behind only to his 47.97 when he finished fourth in the Olympic final in Rio in 2016.

Barr posted the 48.26 (SB) to finish 4th in his semi-final, a time made all the more impressive after clipping the 7th hurdle in one of the track’s most unforgiving events.

The Waterford athlete did superbly well to regain his composure and power to the line in his customary strong finish, but unfortunately it was just short of claiming one of the fastest qualifier spots.

Barr was unlucky to have been drawn in a semi-final with the world number 1 and 2 athletes which was going to make qualification for the final extremely difficult. The race was won in a time of 47.30 by Norway's Karsten Warholm.

Barr’s time of 48.26 would have been enough to win the 3rd heat.

The result adds to Barr’s list of big stage performances, having posted the 4 fastest 400m hurdles times of his career in a European championship final, Olympic semi-final 2020, Olympic semi-final 2016, and Olympic Final 2016.

His list of achievements will undoubtedly inspire the next generation of Irish hurdlers for years to come.

Michelle Finn and Eilish Flanagan made their Tokyo debuts in the heats of the 3,000 metres steeplechase earlier in the morning.

Finn (Leevale AC) finished ninth place in her heat in a time of 9:36.26 at her second Olympic Games.

It was a strong pace throughout and Finn found herself running in the second pack as the field split midway through the race.

The second heat was a faster race which meant Finn's time was short of advancing to the next round.

Eilish Flanagan (Carmen Runners AC) secured a personal best of 9:34.86 in the third heat to finish 12th.

The time was a new NI record and moves Flanagan up to third on the Irish all-time list behind Michelle Finn (2nd) and Roísín McGettigan (NR).

It was a dramatic race and Flanagan did brilliantly to stay in contention and shave 6 seconds off her personal, even after having to avoid several athletes who fell in front of her.

Speaking to RTE after the race Flanagan said: "It really excites me for that to be my first performance on the world stage. It makes me believe a bit more that I belong there, so I'm looking forward to the next opportunity on a stage like that."

Live Results: Click HERE

Aug 2nd Preview: Click HERE

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