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.

“Two years ago I couldn’t stop crying because I was so sad, and then today I couldn’t stop crying because I was so happy,” Rob said yesterday. “My mam would have been so proud of me today. She’ll have been looking down and it gave me strength to think of her.”

Rob, who finished fourth in the Olympics last year, was quick to praise his team, which includes his wife, Marian.

“Marian is great,” said the 35-year-old Togher Athletics Club member. “She took a step back from her career, it’s a team effort and I am very grateful to her.”

He added: “This will mean a lot to everyone back home. The country will be sunk tonight. When I was going round I thought, ‘the country needs a lift’.”

Rob’s father Bobby said his nerves were so bad he couldn’t watch it and had to leave the house more than once with his dogs. “Against all the odds, for a little Irishman to go out there and take on the world and to come through; it’s a dream come true for me, for my family, for my grandchildren, and moreover for Maureen that is up in heaven — his mother. She’s up there looking down. I actually went down to the grave this morning with my two dogs. I’m just so happy. I can’t get over it,” he said.

Sonia O’Sullivan had nothing but praise and welcomed him to the gold-medal club. “Rob had his own personal high performance plan and this is what you need to do to be the best,” she said.