Heffernan breaks his own record

ROBERT HEFFERNAN continued his sensational build-up to the Olympic Games by knocking 20 seconds off his national record for the 10,000m walk at the Woodies DIY national senior track and field championships yesterday.

The 30-year-old Togher racewalker set his third national record this year when he retained his 10,000m title in 38 mins 27.57 secs — he set the old record at 38:47.66 at the championships in 2002.

Yesterday’s performance gave a much needed lift to the national championships with other Beijing-bound athletes absent from the track. Recovering Joanne Cuddihy gave the championships a miss while David Gillick, the men’s 400m record holder, withdrew from the men’s 400m still troubled by the niggle in his knee. Alistair Cragg, who ran a superb 3,000m in Paris on Friday night, withdrew from the 5,000m final complaining of stomach problems and a high temperature.