Heffernan gearing up for 50km

Robert Heffernan will look for inspiration from his one-time coach when he lines up Saturday’s men’s 50km walk.

Heffernan was in recovery mode yesterday after Saturday’s spectacular show which saw him post the second fastest time of his career at 1:20:18 for ninth place in the men’s 20km walk.

Next Saturday (9am) he will line up for the event he has been preparing for since he finished fourth in a last-minute double-up at the European championships in Barcelona two years ago. His mentor and legendary Olympic racewalker Robert Korzeniowski finished eighth in the 20km at the 1996 Olympics and rebounded a few days later to win the first of four gold medals at 50km.