Rob Heffernan 'ready to go to war' at World Championships

World champion, Olympic medallist, husband, father, and coach — for Rob Heffernan, there seems little left to accomplish, but the 39-year-old will nonetheless take to the start line in London tomorrow morning desperate for a medal in what will likely be his last hurrah as a race walker. Can he rescue a mediocre world championships for the Irish?

Q: After coming sixth in the Olympics at the age of 38, what brought you back for another year?

A: I wasn’t satisfied. The Olympics were such a washout that it would have been bad to leave on that note, whereas London is going to be huge. The appeal of going was for the impact it has for athletics in Ireland. It’s the last opportunity for people to see me race and it’s an opportunity to say thank you to everybody. I got so much support over the years off people and they’re all going to be there. But it was a tough decision to come back, committing to that lifestyle for another 11 months.