Action man Heffernan aims to down young guns

ROBERT HEFFERNAN set the track ablaze in the Odyssey Arena a few years ago when he set a new Irish record for the 5,000m walk at 18mins 51secs and if he can reproduce his training form at the Woodies DIY Irish Indoor Athletics Championships in Belfast tonight, fans can expect fireworks.

His last outing was for the national 30k title around the Monahan Road Circuit in Cork last month when he smashed his own Irish record, despite having come off what was basically a block of speedwork training.

But he could hardly contain his excitement in advance of this weekend’s assignment which pits him against a field of 12, including some young braves looking for a big scalp.