Heffernan jetting in to defend title in Cork

Rob Heffernan will be making a short stopover in Cork on Tuesday evening as he attempts to defend his Cork City Sports 3,000m race-walk title.

A month after his appearance at the Cork meet last summer, Heffernan was crowned World 50k walking champion, and this summer he returns to Cork, albeit for only 24 hours, before returning to altitude training in Spain.

In his first competitive appearance on home soil since that triumph, Heffernan will be seeking to break his own World Masters (O35s) 3000m walking record of 11:11.94, which he set at Cork IT last year. However he will have to overcome the challenge of Australian 21-year-old Dane Bird-Smith if he is to hold onto the Cork City Sports title.