Rob Heffernan finishes 6th in Olympic 50k final

Rob Heffernan finished 6th in the final of the 50km race walk in Rio on Friday the 19th of August. At the half way mark, Rob looked as if he might be in the mix for a medal but muscle cramp in the second half forced him out of the back of the leading group.

At first, it looked as if he finished 6th but a Japanese athlete who was in 3rd place was subsequently disqualified after he had been found to obstruct a Canadian competitor. After another appeal, the Japanese athlete was reinstated so Rob was 6th.

The second Irish athlete was Brendan Boyce who finished in 19th position with a time of 3h 53m 59s. This top 20 finish is an improvement on his performance at the London Olympics where he finished in 27th place in a time of 3h 55m 01s.

The third Irish athlete Alex Wright had to pull out after 30km, perhaps a sign that he hadn't fully recovered from the 20k race last weekend.

"I tried to win the Olympic Games and I finished sixth" - another heroic performance from @RM_Heffernan #rterio2016 https://t.co/mhMKuyFJPw

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 19, 2016

First episode of London Calling now on RTE Player...

The new TV series London Calling started last night on RTE television.

Description......"As Robert Heffernan, 20km and 50km racewalker heads off for warm weather training, his wife, 400m sprinter Marian Heffernan has to juggle childcare with preparing for the European Indoor Championships in Paris giving an insight on how a couple, who happen to be elite athletes, balance their relationship and family life, while trying to qualify for the biggest sporting event on the planet. With a successful career in middle distance and cross country races behind him, 29 year old Mark Kenneally attempts to make his mark on the international stage in a distance he has never run before having also just started his own business and got engaged to his long time girlfriend Edel."

The first episode is available now on the RTE Player Service until the 26th of June.

Irish performances at the IAAF World Cup of Race Walking - Sat 12th/Sun 13th May 2012

The IAAF World Cup of Race Walking was held in Saransk, Russia last weekend and resulted in some fine Irish performances. Best of the lot was Colin Griffin (Ballinamore AC) from Leitrim who qualified for the London Olympics after finishing in 15th place in a time of 3:52.55, well inside the 'A' standard of 3:59. This brings the total qualifiers in Athletics to 18, the highest ever number to achieve the A standard. In the same race, Jamie Costin (West Waterford AC) was unable to finish in the hot conditions and failed to qualify for his fourth Olympics. Michael Doyle also posted a DNF.

50 Kilometres Race Walk - M   FINAL
13 May 2012 - 8:30
Position    Bib    Athlete    Country    Mark     .
1    358    Sergey Kirdyapkin     RUS    3:38:08    (WL)
2    354    Igor Erokhin     RUS    3:38:10    (SB)
3    114    Jared Tallent     AUS    3:40:32    (SB)
15    254    Colin Griffin     IRL    3:52:55    (SB)
(72 finishers)

In the mens 20k race, Rob Heffernan (Togher AC) used the event as part of his preparation for the 50k race in the Olympics. Rob finished in 12th place in 1:21.51.  In the same race Brendan Boyce (Letterkenny AC), who has already qualified for the 50k in London finished 65th in 1:27.

20 Kilometres Race Walk - M   FINAL
12 May 2012 - 18:15
Position    Bib    Athlete    Country    Mark     .
1    152    Zhen Wang     CHN    1:19:13     .
2    359    Andrey Krivov     RUS    1:19:27     .
3    357    Vladimir Kanaykin     RUS    1:19:43    (SB)
12    255    Robert Heffernan     IRL    1:21:51     .
64    251    Brendan Boyce     IRL    1:27:46    (SB)
(108 finishers)

In the mens 10k racewalk, Luke Hickey (Leevale AC) and James Treanor (Shercock AC) finished in 48:05 and 48:55 respectively.

10 Kilometres Race Walk - M   FINAL
IntermediateResults 5km
Position    Bib    Athlete    Country    Mark     .
1    160    Eider Arévalo     COL    41:17    (SB)
2    356    Alexander Ivanov     RUS    41:42     .
3    308    Jesús Tadeo Vega     MEX    41:56     .
54    256    Luke Hickey     IRL    48:05     .
59    257    James Treanor     IRL    48:55
(63 finishers)

In the womens 50k race, Olive Loughnane (Loughrea AC) who lives near Coachford finished in a seasons best time of 1:31.32 and in eight place. Just to give some idea of the tough conditions, Olive sent this out on her Twitter account just before the race...."Conditions here in Saransk are brutal. Feels like 30 & it's only 10:30. It's going to be a war of attrition in 3 hours". In the same race, Laura Reynolds (Mohill AC) was on the target for the Olympic Standard for three quarters of the race however she faded in the latter stages finishing in 1:37:06 outside her best of 1:34:42 that she set earlier in the year in Naumburg.

20 Kilometres Race Walk - W   FINAL
13 May 2012 - 13:20
Position    Bib    Athlete    Country    Mark     .
1    636    Elena Lashmanova     RUS    1:27:38     .
2    633    Olga Kaniskina     RUS    1:28:33    (SB)
3    553    María José Poves     ESP    1:29:10     .
8    583    Olive Loughnane     IRL    1:31:32    (SB)
35    585    Laura Reynolds     IRL    1:37:06
(85 finishers)

In the womens 10k race walk, Kate Veale of West Waterford AC finished an impressive sixth place in a time of 46:53, not too far from her personal best time of 46:32. Kate who is the current World Youth Champion is sitting her leaving cert exams in a few weeks time. In the same race Emma Prendeville finished 45th.

10 Kilometres Race Walk - W   FINAL
12 May 2012 - 17:00
Position    Bib    Athlete    Country    Mark     .
1    528    Sandra Arenas     COL    45:57     .
2    609    Alejandra Ortega     MEX    46:00    (AJ)
3    635    Nadezhda Leontyeva     RUS    46:02     .
6    586    Kate Veale     IRL    46:53    (SB)
45    584    Emma Prendiville     IRL    55:31   
(48 finishers)

Late Late interview with Rob and Marian Heffernan...

On Friday night (4th May), there was an interview with Rob and Marian Heffernan on RTE's Late Late Show. Both are heading to the London Olympics where Rob will take part in the race walking events while Marian is part of the 4 x 400m relay team.

The interview can be seen on the RTE Player service HERE until the 25th of May. It starts at 34:00 and lasts for ten minutes.

Irish Racewalking results from last weekend...Sun 18th Mar 2012

Some of the the top Irish race walkers took part in the Lugano Trophy in Switzerland last weekend in some wet conditions.

In the Womens Under 20 race over 10kms, Kate Veale of West Waterford AC finished in 1st place in a time of 47:01, almost three minutes ahead of her nearest rival. In 4th place, Emma Prenderville of Farranfore Maine Valley AC in Kerry finished in 51:32. Emma had finished in 3rd place in 2011 with 50:50.

In the mens 20k race, Rob Heffernan of Togher AC finished in a time of 1:20:39. In previous years, Rob finished in 1:20:54 in 2011 and 1:20:44 in 2010 so he's in a good shape at the moment as he prepares for the Olympics in London.

In the womens 20k race, Olive Loughnane of Athenry AC finished in 10th place with 1:32:26.

In the Mens Under 20 race over 10kms, James Treanor of Shercock AC finished in 5th place with 45:08.

The full results can be seen HERE

The next major race walking competition is on Saturday, the 25th of March in Dudince, Slovakia. In it, Jamie Costin (West Waterford AC) and Colin Griffin (Ballinamore AC) will be hoping for a qualification time of sub 3:59:00 for 50 kms for the London Olympics. Brendan Boyce (Letterkenny AC) will also be taking part but has already qualified for London having recorded a personal best of 3.57.58 last September

Postscript......Results from the 50km race walkers Jamie Costin and Colin Griffin in Dudince, Slovakia. Both athletes were trying for the Olympic 'A' standard time of 3:59. Jamie Costin dropped out at 32 kms and Colin Griffin was disqualified 10km later after a third warning flag. Brendan Boyce achieved the 'A' standard for the second time in six months by taking six seconds off his personal best time of 3:57:58.

Interview with Rob and Marian Heffernan on RTE Radio...

On the 6th of December, there was an interview on the John Murray Show with Cork athletes Rob and Marian Heffernan. While Rob has already qualified for the Racewalking event in the London Olympics, Marian hopes to qualify as part of the womens 4 x 400 relay team. If she succeeds then they will be the first Irish husband and wife to qualify for the Olympics.

The interview can be heard HERE .......It starts at 18:20 and lasts until 32:40

Irish Times interview with racewalker Rob Heffernan

Just a few weeks ago in late September, racewalker Rob Heffernan from Cork qualified for the 2012 London Olympics. The following extract which is taken from the Irish Times details how the 50k race went for him in Naumberg, Germany.

 

"AFTER 21 of the 50 kilometres that made up Rob Heffernan’s attempt to qualify for the London Olympics a fortnight back, he found himself a target.  Rob Heffernan reckons that with anything in life, if you get yourself the right target and do the right thing the right way, it will inch towards you as much as you will towards it. You don’t need to be a race walker to appreciate the value of each small step.

His target that afternoon in Naumberg, Germany, took the shape of a 21-year-old Pole by the name of Adrian Blocki, who had burst clear of the field after three kilometres and by now had built up a 45-second lead. Heffernan was at the front of the chasing pack, alongside Jesus Angel Garcia, a four-time medallist at the World Championships. The two class walkers in the field, neither he nor Garcia were minded to do the other’s work for him so Heffernan figured he’d go about catching Blocki on his own.

After 22 kilometres, the gap was down to 44 seconds. After 23, it was 36. After 25, not only was it down to 27 but Heffernan had opened up a 10-second gap on Garcia. He was in full predator mode now, insinuating his way across the ground and taking chunks out of Blocki with each passing lap. By the 26th kilometre, the gap was down to 15 seconds – half a minute gone in the space of just four laps. And then, just as he was about to reel Blocki in, just as he was about to plant a dart in the bull’s-eye he’d set for himself just under half an hour earlier, the Pole dropped out of the race. He finished out the 26th kilometre and then pulled stumps. Heffernan could have punched him.

“Next thing,” he says, “I’m in the lead and I have about 15 seconds on the guy behind me, who I know had won a medal in the World Championships just two years ago so I know is not going to die. And my heart just kind of sank. I was going, ‘I’m out on my own here, there’s nobody watching the race, there’s nothing to be gained. We’ll just get this over with and get the (qualifying) time.’ “I slowed down a bit to let him catch up so that we could have a bit of cat and mouse over the rest of the race. In the end I finished second. I was disgusted.”
He was able to wash it off him easy enough though as he had just qualified for London and his fourth Olympic Games

The full article can be seen at http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2011/1005/1224305258374.html

Robert Heffernan qualifies for 2012 London Olympics...

Robert Heffernan (Togher AC) and Brendan Boyce (Letterkenny AC) have achieved the Olympic qualification standard in the 50km walk in Nuamburg, Germany (Sat 24th Sept 2011).

Rob finished second in 3.49.30, this follows on from the personal best he set at the IAAF Race Walking Challenge in La Coruna last Saturday in the 10km walk when finishing sixth in 39.19 minutes.

Brendan Boyce achieved a personal best of 3.57.58 to finish sixth just inside the qualification standard of 3.59.00 to achieve the standard for his first Olympic Games.

Irish Times article on Irelands Olympic hopefuls...

There was a piece in the Irish Times on Sat 30th July about some of the Irish Olympic medal hopes as they prepare for the 2012 games in London. They include the top Irish racewalker Rob Heffernan from Cork.

It starts with this little gem...

SEB COE TELLS a story about Christmas day, 1979. He’d already gone for a 12-mile morning run but once his dinner was over, he got fidgety. The Moscow Olympics would begin in seven months’ time and the fear that his great rival Steve Ovett was probably out doing a second run gnawed away at him. So he went out and put in another five miles in the afternoon.

It’s a semi-famous story among running folk. What’s maybe not as well known is the follow-up that was winkled out of Coe by the Irish sportswriter David Walsh in an interview in 2008. Twenty years after that Christmas day, Coe and Ovett had put away childish things and were friends now. Over a beer, Coe told Ovett of that day and of the paranoia he felt that made him go for a second run. “Can you believe that?” he asked. Ovett looked back at him and said, “Did you only run twice that day?”

The full article can be seen HERE

Cork BHAA John Buckley Sports 5k attracts a large field.....31st May 2011

The 2011 John Buckley Sports 5 km road race in Cork City attracted a large entry on Tuesday evening and while the number has to be confirmed, it looks as if it is in the region of 700 runners.

The winner of the mens race was Mark Hanrahan in a time of 14:46, well ahead of his nearest rival Ryan Creech in 2nd place with 15:19. Just behind in 3rd place was former Cork City Marathon winner Michael Herlihy in 15:23.

In the ladies race, Lizzie Lee ran 16:48 to win as well as setting a new course record. Annette Quaid finished 2nd in 17:32 while Rhona Lynch finshed just behind in 3rd with 17:39.

Also taking part in the race was the Irish International racewalker Rob Heffernan who was using it as a training session . Rob is currently in training for the World Championships in Korea which is coming up in August / September.

Category Results...
Men's Results
1 Mark Hanrahan , 2 Michael O'Herlihy , 3 Kevin Wilmot , 4 John Meade , 5 Cathal O'Connell
O/40 1 Mark McMahon ,2 Colin O'Herlihy , 3 John Dunphy
O/45 1 Brian Lenihan , 2 Stanislaw Byczek , 3 Tom O'Regan
O/50 1 Michael Murphy , 2 Pat Murphy , 3 Ken Carey
O/55 1 P Mahoney , 2 Tom Cody , 3 Willie Hayes
O/60 1 Pat Twomey , 2 John Holland , 3 Jimmy Murray
O/65 1 John Cotter , 2 F Kelleher , 3 Tony Dunne
O/70 1 John O'Leary
Wheelchair 1 Jerry Forde
Mens A Team - 1 CIT 83, 2 UCC 176, 3 Navy 179
Mens B Team - 1 EMC 233, 2 Army 272, 3 Midleton News 278
Mens C Team - 1 Flexible Connectors 341, 2 CBC 397, 3 IPS 517Ladies Individual 1 Lizzie Lee , 2 Rhona Lynch , 3 Laura Crowe , 4 Sinead O'Connor , 5 Niamh Roe
O/35 1 Michelle Nolan , 2 Ann Wolfe , 3 Gillian Cotter
O/40 1 Sinead Ni Chonchuir , 2 Edel O'Connor , 3 Breda Cahill
O/45 1 Niamh O'Sullivan , 2 Ann Moore , 3 Mary Cotter
O/50 1 Ann Donnelly , 2 Ann Tobin , 3 Frances O'Connor
O/55 1 Brid Murphy , 2 Mary Linehan , 3 K O'Connell
O/60 1 Maggie Dunne ,
Ladies A Team - 1 Dept of Ed 114, 2 Midleton News 299, 3 HSE 353
Ladies B Team - 1 HSE 516, 2 Eolas 732, 3 Pfizers   792

Full results.........well, it looks as if the record crowds overwhelmed the finish as bit and there were long delays in the finishing chutes. The results can now be seen HERE

Photos.......Not a great evening for taking photos as it was really dull. There is a small gallery HERE

Another album by Gearoid O'Laoi HERE.

20% Off Vouchers.........If you picked up one of these and you are wondering where to use it, then see the details at the end of the race preview.

Heffernan and Loughnane Target Top Three at European Cup of Race Walking

Robert Heffernan (Togher AC) and Olive Loughnane (Loughrea AC) will be targeting top three positions at the European Cup of Race Walking in the Algrave town of Olhao in Portugal on Saturday 21st May. Both will face stiff competition from some of the world’s best walkers including reigning Olympic champion, Valeriy Borchin of Russia.

Heffernan, who is currently training in Granada, Spain, will compete in the 20km walk while Olive
Loughnane will compete in the Senior Women’s 20km Walk.

The Women’s Junior team includes Kate Veale (West Waterford AC), Emma Prendiville (Farranfore Maine Valley AC) and Maeve Curley (Craughwell AC). This talented trio has already achieved the standard for the European Junior Championships, which will be held in Estonia in July....(Sourced from the AAI)

Robert Heffernan finishes 5th in Swiss 20km race-walking event - Sun 20th Mar 2011

Rob Heffernan of Togher AC got his season off to a solid start by finishing 5th in a high class 20 kms race in Lugano, Switzerland last Sunday. The race was won by Chinese athlete Wang Chin with Rob finishing as the top European in a very impressive 80 minutes 53 seconds, his fastest ever opening to a season over the 20kms distance.

When interviewed after the race, Rob commented...."Initially I was quite disappointed to get beaten, but on reflection its a good opening to the season, and of course its an Olympic qualifying time, so its handy to have that out of the way"

Men
1 Zhen Wang (China) 1:18:36
2 Yafei Zhu (China) 1:18:37
3 Ding Chen (China) 1:19:38
4 Hassanine Sebei (Tunisia) 1:20:19
5 Robert Heffernan (Ireland) 1:20:53
6 Nazar Kovalenko (Ukraine) 1:21:33
7 Petr Trofimov (Russia) 1:21:47
8 Bertrand Moulinet (France) 1:21:49

The full results can be seen HERE

Irish Indoor Championships on RTE Player until 28th Feb

The Irish Indoor Athletics Championships were held last weekend (Sat 19th/Sun 20th Feb 2011) in Belfast. Highlights of this event are now available on the RTE Player until the 28th of February (Please note that it is 50 min long).

In amongst the many athletes, a number from Cork were taking part...

Ailis McSweeney of Leevale AC set a new personal best of 7:32 in winning the Womens 60 Metres (...see ~15:10 in the RTE Programme)

Robert Heffernan of Togher AC won the Mens 5 km walk in a time of 19:09 and lapped everyone else in the process (...see ~31:46 in the RTE Programme)

Marian Andrews of Togher AC (Married to Rob Heffernan) won the Womens 400m in a time of 54:00 seconds, just missing out by 0.35 seconds to qualify for the European Indoor Championships in Paris in March (...see ~8:50 in the RTE Programme).

The full results can be seen in PDF format HERE

Irish Sports Council announce 2011 grants...

The Irish Sports Council announced today their grants for high performance sports in 2011....(Updated 18th Feb 2011)

From the press release....
"€7.8 million is being invested in high performance sports in 2011. The Irish Sports Council made a decision to maintain funding at the 2010 levels as the coming year is the vital preparation and qualification year for the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games."

In terms of athletics, they gave grants under the term 'Podium Category'  to the following...
Derval O'Rourke (60/100m Hurdles), Robert Heffernan (20/50km Racewalking), David Gillick (400m) and Olive Loughnane (20km Racewalking).

The full report can be seen HERE

Updated...18th Feb 2011....There is an article about it in the Irish Times HERE

Results of the AAI Racewalking Championships...Sun 30th Jan 2011

The AAI National Walking Championships took place in Cork this year for a change. It was held on the Monaghan Road/Centre Park road circuit last Sunday, the 30th of January in what were very cold conditions with the temperature just below freezing.

The winner of the mens 30 km race was Robert Heffernan of Togher AC who also set a new national record of 2 hours 7 minutes and 48 seconds in the process. (6:51/mile pace)

Laura Reynolds (Mohill AC) won the women’s 20k walk in 1:38:08, while Kate Veale (West Waterford AC) won the 7.5k race.

Details;
Men 30k; 1. Robert Heffernan (Togher AC) 2:07:48 (6:51/mile); 2. Colin Griffin (Ballinamore AC) 2:13:59 (7:11/mile) ; 3. Jeff Cassin (Finn Valley AC) 2:21:17 (7:35/mile).

Women 20k; 1. Laura Reynolds (Mohill AC) 1:38:08 (7:54/mile)

7.5k
Kate Veale (West Waterford AC) 35:36 (7:38/mile); Fiona Dennehy (St. Senan’s AC) 44:16; Paul Murphy (Claremorris AC) 44:34

15k
Cian McManamon (Westport AC) 1:14:48

10k
Michael Moran (Claremorris AC) 49:47; Emma Doherty (North Belfast Harriers) 53:32; Robert O’Neill (Togher AC)

5k
Caoimhe Casey 28:36; Dylan Carty 28:41; Simon Gilespie (Balina AC) 29:03; Stephanie Morley (Claremorris AC) 31:22; Laura Bestie 31:43

2.5k
Andrew Bell 15:18; Siobhan Hennessy (Moycarky Coocroo AC) 15:40; Clodagh Morley 15:48; Saoirse Oliver 21:15

National Walks Championships...Cork...Sun 30th Jan 2011

The National Walks Championships take place at Pairc Ui Chaoimh in Cork City on Sunday, the 30th of January 2011. While it's not exactly running ;o) it might be of interest to local runners to go and watch. From what I hear, they will be using the Monaghan Rd / Central Park Rd circuit near the Marina.
While there are a number of race walking events on next Sunday morning, the main one will be the men’s 30km and the women’s 20km race walks.

In the men’s 30km race, local Rob Heffernan (Togher AC) will be the hot favourite to claim the national title. Rob finished in 4th place in both the 20km and 50km events at last summer’s European Athletics Championships in Barcelona, narrowly missing out on a medal in both cases. Heffernan won the title last year in a competitive time of 2:14:31.

More info about the course from John Quigley of Eagle AC who measured the course....
The race starts on Monahan Road, about 200m up the road from the Showgrounds, and will involve 12 loops of the Monahan Rd/Centre Park Rd circuit.

The loop is actually approx. 2.8 metres short of 2.5k, so there is an 'adjustment', near the showgrounds, where the walkers will have to head away from the kerb, around cones. This adjustment brings the loop up to 2.5k.

Here is part of the press release...
Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Cork’s Marina this Sunday is the venue for last month’s postponed 2010 Woodie’s National Walks Championships. A wide range of events is planned for the day and it promises to be a great day out for all the family for competitor and spectator alike.

Events.....
A 5km Development race for U13 Boys & Girls
A 5km Development race for U15 and U17 Boys & Girls
A 10km Development race for Junior Men & Women

& ‘Fit4Life’ 3km Walk for Men & Women (Fit4Life is a 3km fun walk open to everyone. €5 entry fee, €10 per family, Togher AC fundraiser, Pairc Ui Chaoimh, 9am to 9:45am, the walk will be on the footpath and will be in the opposite direction to the race)

All events will be starting at 10AM sharp.