Rob can cap ‘perfect year’
“The year hasn’t changed,” said Marian of the training year and build-up towards his European title tilt. “He’s doing the exact same thing year in, year out since Daegu [world championships in 2011]. There’s very little changes. His year has gone perfect, it’s just a matter of getting out there Friday and doing it.”
Heffernan goes in as race favourite, and world champion, but it will be far from a formality for the Togher athlete.
“He won the worlds last year but he’s not the favourite by a long shot,” said Marian, who identified defending European champion Yohann Diniz of France as one of a number contenders. The Frenchman will most likely take off from the gun around the 2km circuit and attempt to build up a lead on his rivals.
“There’s five or six there in with a rattle,” added Marian, with Russian rivals Mikhail Ryzhov and Ivan Noskov along with Ukraine’s Igor Hlavan also capable of taking gold.
“The event changes year in, year out. He had to draw a line under being world champion. Having that mentality, he went back to it in October, and you respect how fit you have to be, and how fit the people you’re racing against are going to be. The worlds are scratched now and it’s a new challenge on Friday.”
The race starts at 8:10am and his training indicators are better than ever. “His form is good. We went to Salzburg and his 35km [time-trial] went a minute-and-a-half quicker than last year. Everything’s looking good.”
If Heffernan comes out on top, he will also have a new member of Team Heffernan waiting at the finish line. Marian gave birth to baby Regan in January and she’s settled into the family high performance set-up seamlessly.
Heffernan was calm and composed outside the team hotel yesterday and said that he even had took naps with her at the training camp in Gaudix in Spain. The Corkman has yet to see the course in person but was relaxed about it having seen it on the television.
His message was simple: “drive it on.”
Mark English goes into tonight’s 800m final with the pressure off. The Donegal man went for a light 15-minute run yesterday and was thankful for the day’s rest having run a heat and semi-final on consecutive days.
“I needed the day’s rest,” he said. “I went to try and win the semi-final. I’m going to run by feel in the final but I won’t be running at the back.”
A Frenchman, like in the 50km race walk, will be the chief protagonist in the 800m final at 6.55pm this evening. Pierre-Ambroise Bosse won English’s semi-final in 1:45.94 and he will be the favourite, followed by Poles Adam Kszczot and Marcin Lewandowski.
English will be aiming to at least emulate James McIlroy’s fourth place finish in 1998 — the last Irishman to make a European 800m final. He has the ability. The question will be does he have the endurance.
Kelly Proper was the best Irish performer yesterday and was delighted with her personal best performance of 23.15 seconds in the 200m semi-finals. Proper finished fifth in her heat, won by Myriam Soumaré of France in 22.56. It ranked her 10th fastest overall.
“My best athletics day ever,” said the bubbly Proper. “I have to be delighted with a personal best. I really wanted to make that final, though. I’ll be looking to get into more races after this and not waste my good form.”
The night didn’t pass without some truly bizarre scenes when Mahiedine Mekhisi-Benabbad of France appeared to win the men’s 3,000m steeplechase in a canter for what would have been his third European title. However, his joy was shortlived when he was subsequently disqualified for removing his singlet around 100 metres before the finish .
Mekhissi-Benabbad had finished ahead of compatriot Yoann Kowal and Krystian Zalewski of Poland but after being disqualified the top three became Kowal, Zalewski and Angel Mullera of Spain.
France have appealed the decision.
Laura Reynolds had a disappointing day on the streets of Zurich in the women’s 20km race walk won by Elmira Alembekova of Russia in 1:27:56. The Leitrim athlete dropped out just shy of the 12km mark sighting a number of issues.
It was always going to be a tough hurdle to clear for McMahon, pictured, in the semi-finals of the 400m hurdles. She finished 8th in 57.31 – not too far outside her pb 56.97. There is plenty of scope to refine her technique and she can take big strides forward if she does.
Qualified in the morning for the semi-final with her third fastest time of 23.37 and followed that up with a personal best of 23.15 to rank her 10th in Europe. She can now look forward to the women’s 4 by 100m relay with great confidence.
There was plenty of hope of more than one medal at these championships but ultimately it will come down to Robert Heffernan producing the goods in the 50km race walk this morning when the race gets underway at 8am. Heffernan is well versed in producing on the day. It could yet inspire Mark English to a medal-winning performance in the 800m later in the evening.
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