Get to the top
ON JULY 24, Thomas Barr celebrated a milestone birthday and he knew what was coming.
Turning 30 is always a big deal in the life of an athlete and, sure enough, the messages came flooding in — with many of them focusing on his grey hair.
He lost count of the times that ‘silver fox’ was mentioned, but he’s well used to it.
Even in his early 20s, the grey was there. Maybe it was a help in him slipping under the radar, like back in 2016 when he shocked the athletics world by coming fourth in the final of the
400m hurdles.
Two years on, he put in another of the races of his life to take silver at the
European
Championships in
Berlin.
Another Euros is here, another German
Euros, too, and Barr can’t wait to get on the Munich track.
“We’re back in Germany and my memories of Berlin are all fantastic. I was in good shape coming into that. The top 12 got byes into the semi-finals and I was one of those. We didn’t have to run the heats,’’ he said.
Pressure
“In the semi-final, there was huge, huge pressure on me because it was my first race and we were really narrowing it down. Only the top two went through, so there was big pressure.
“This time, I’m not ranked as high, so I will be doing heats. That is actually nice to have. In Berlin, I wasn’t happy or excited to get out of the semi-final, I was just relieved.
“Any time I get into a final and there’s a medal up for grabs, I feel I can go at it.’’
Because of Bob Tisdall’s Olympic gold in 1932, 400m hurdles has a special place in Irish athletics history, but it took a long time for another world-class Irishman in the event to emerge.
That was Barr and he hopes others can take inspiration from what he’s done. Fintan Dewhirst was just 10 years old when Barr took fourth in Rio.
Last month, the Donegal teenager took silver over 400m hurdles at the Under-18 European Championships, running a time of 51.65 — a mark Barr wasn’t hitting until he was nearly 20.
“That’s the biggest thing I would like to think I have given to other Irish athletes and, particularly, 400m hurdlers — it can be done. We 2022 World Athletics Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon, USA 16/7/2022
Men’s 400m Hurdles Qualification are Irish, it can be done, we can get to the top level,’’ he said.
“Once it’s done once, once it’s visible, you think it’s impossible until it’s done, but then you go ‘OK, it is accessible’.
“Look at someone like Fintan now. He’s really put down some very fast markers in the last year or two.
“I would love to see him come up through the ranks and (below and left) realise that the top level can be achieved.”
There is a new generation of Irish athletes we will hear a lot about in the years to come.
Huge
The likes of Rhasidat Adeleke, Sarah Healy and Israel Olatunde have huge potential.
Athletics is an individual sport, but Barr has always felt being part of a team matters, too.
And, when he’s with the Irish team, he makes an effort to help the new breed.
“Yeah, I think back to when I was going to major championships when I was younger and looking at the older generation like David Gillick,’’ he said.
“I always remember the older athletes would give encouragement — just in one or two sentences. That was all it took. I’d always try my very best now to give credit. When someone has performed well, I do my best to make it known.
“I have no idea if it’s my ego or not, whether it makes a difference, but I know, in my younger days, it made a difference to me.