Heffernan faces up to mighty ‘Paquillo’

ROBERT HEFFERNAN will be looking for the performance of a lifetime when he faces double European champion, Francisco Fernandez, in the 5,000m walk at the Irish Indoor Championships at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast tomorrow, with Gillian O’Sullivan also looking for something special.

Heffernan knows “Paquillo” could be unbeatable because he has just been at a training camp with him and the Russian walker, Ilya Markov, in Huolva, Spain.

Fernandez arrived there after setting a new Spanish record for the 5,000m walk at 18:39.58 when finishing third to Russians Alkesandr Yarqunkin and Ivan Kuznetsov at Yekaterinburg. Then he broke camp to beat Markov in a thrilling finish in San Fernando on February 3.