Rob’s golden walk of fame

After suffering 13 years of agonising near misses and the heartache of losing his mother Maureen prematurely two years ago, Rob Heffernan cried tears of joy as he was crowned 50km racewalking champion of the world.

The Corkman’s elation in Moscow was in stark contrast to the tears he cried two years earlier in South Korea when he pulled out of the championships because of his mother’s death.

Following in the footsteps of Sonia O’Sullivan (1995) and Eamonn Coghlan (1983) — both in the 5,000m — Rob is just Ireland’s third world gold winner.