There was never any doubt that Thomas Barr would win the athlete of the year award at the Irish Life Health National Athletics Awards yesterday.

Jack McGowan used to train at night for fear of being thought mad, writes Feidhlim Kelly.

Phil Healy’s epic relay leg for UCC last month may have entered athletics folklore, but her first official attempt at the 400m left no one in doubt of her future potential over the one-lap distance.

Thomas Barr’s heart was pounding on stage when he was awarded Athlete of the Year at the GloHealth National Athletics Awards at the Crowne Plaza in Santry yesterday.

Robert Heffernan finished a fighting fifth in the men’s 50km race walk in 3:44:17 in a brave bid to defend his world title at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, while Ireland’s men’s 4x400m relay team set a national record.

‘I feel good, my training’s gone well, I’m in a good place mentally and physically’

Robert Heffernan believes he is in with a “fighting chance” of defending his World 50km Race Walk title when he toes the line at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing next week.

Thomas Barr is targeting a final berth in the 400m hurdles at his maiden World Athletics Championships in Beijing at the end of this month.

Mark English has vowed not to allow his disappointing 800m performance at last night’s Cork City Sports meet affect his European U23 championships gold medal bid.

Double European medallist Mark English will look to etch his name into the rich history of The Cork City Sports at the CIT stadium in Bishopstown this evening.

The Irish Sports Council has committed over €1.5m in funding for the International Carding Scheme for 2015. The money will be invested in 75 athletes across 14 sports.

There was potentially good news for Robert Heffernan yesterday when the IAAF confirmed they have filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland against the decisions rendered by RUSADA in the cases of six Russian athletes which, if successful, would see the Corkman land Olympic bronze from London 2012.

There was double joy for Robert Heffernan (Togher AC) at the 50km race walk in Dudince, Slovakia on Saturday where he finished fourth in 3:48:44 to qualify for the World Championships in Beijing this summer and a record fifth Olympic Games.

World champion Robert Heffernan returns to competitive action at the IAAF Race Walking Challenge in Dudince today. 

The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry. Robert Heffernan had only one plan in the 50km race walk on the streets of Zurich yesterday: to win gold.

Robert Heffernan will face a stiff challenge to win the European 50km race walk title on the streets of Zurich this morning but his wife and coach, Marian, believes he’s in as good a shape as ever.

It was a case of relief with Mark English qualifying for the final of the men’s 800m as a fastest loser in 1:46.23 at the Letzigrund Stadium last night while Thomas Barr unfortunately couldn’t replicate that in the 400m hurdles.

Sonia O’Sullivan believes Ireland’s athletes must grasp the opportunity to make their mark on the senior international stage at the European Track and Field Championships starting in Zurich this morning.

Robert Heffernan is in line to win a retrospective bronze medal in the 20km race walk from the 2010 European Championships in Barcelona after Russian Stanislav Emelyanov was found to have committed an anti-doping violation.

Athletics Ireland high performance manager Kevin Ankrom is hanging his hopes on Robert Heffernan winning a medal in the 50km race walk at the European Championships in Zurich.

Rob Heffernan will lead an Irish team of 25 athlete’s to Zurich for next months Europeans, which take place from August 12 – 17.

Another masters world record for Robert Heffernan in the men’s 3,000m race walk and a sub 50 second 400m hurdles for Thomas Barr as an engaging 63rd Cork City Sports last night in Bishopstown gave a significant marker for what lies at ahead at the European Championships in Zurich in August.

The Cork City Sports athletics meet will tonight be streamed live to the world for the first time.

It was a case of déjà vu at the Cork Marathon yesterday with Poland’s Bartosz Mazerski denying Gary O’Hanlon’s brave attempt for a third marathon victory in 15 days in a sprint finish down St Patrick’s Street, while Pauline Curley smashed her course record from last year when coming home in 2:43:37.

Robert Heffernan was placed 23rd (1:21:00) over 20km at the IAAF World Race Walking Cup in Taicang, China yesterday.

Ireland Olympic team manager Patsy McGonagle has rejected the assertions made against Gaelic games and the GAA by Jerry Kiernan.

Marcus Lawler and Kelly Proper saved the best until last at the Woodie’s DIY National Senior Indoor Championships in Athlone when they powered around their respective 200m races in record-breaking fashion while Amy Foster snaffled a world indoor qualifying time in the 60m, pipping Phil Healy in the process.

World 50km walk champion Robert Heffernan was denied a dream New York debut by Sweden’s Andreas Gustafsson at the Millrose Games on Saturday.

Derval O’Rourke and Ciarán Ó Lionáird have expressed disappointment at the level of funding they are set to receive in 2014.

The bookies think today’s Cork Person of the Year award winner will either be a world gold medallist or a woman who voluntarily helps feed people who have fallen on hard times.

Robert Heffernan crowned a fairytale season when he was named Athlete of the Year at the National Athletics Awards at the Crowne Plaza in Dublin yesterday.

The announcement of Roy Keane as assistant manager to Martin O’Neill got me very excited.

Drug testing has been a big part of my life as an athlete. The Irish Sports Council takes a strong stance on testing and I have been consistently drug tested for the past 12 years.

Donncha O’Callaghan has expressed his desire to re-sign with Munster and end his career as a one-club man.

If anyone is looking to send a letter of congratulations to Rob Heffernan, it seems you don’t even need his address — just pop “Gold Medal Winner” on the envelope and An Post will get it to him.

Hundreds of people turned out in Togher, Cork City, as world champion walker Robert Heffernan was treated to another, more low-key homecoming last night.

Paul Pollock produced a mature performance to finish 21st and second fastest European in a new personal best of 2:16:42 in the marathon at the World Track and Field Championship in Moscow on Saturday.

Having wiggled and waggled his way to winning a world championship, the country’s latest antidote to austerity blues arrived home last night to the kind of welcome only a hero deserves.

World Champion Robert Heffernan is to be welcomed home to his native Cork tonight with an open top bus parade through St Patrick’s Street.

Athletics Ireland chairman of High Performance Ray Flynn described Robert Heffernan’s victory in the 50km race walk as the “best day of my athletics life” and that the main message of the Corkman’s performance was to “the athletes themselves.”