Thomas Barr: ‘We’re so proud of him, it’s outstanding, an absolute sensation’

They cheered when he arrived on the track; they cheered when he was introduced to the stadium; they cheered when he took his position on the blocks; they screamed as he mounted a late, late challenge for a medal; they had their hands on their heads as he crossed the line; and they cheered when he ended up agonisingly close, the dip of a head away from that coveted place on the Olympic podium.

“I’m so happy,” said Thomas Barr’s emotion-filled sister Becky in The Cove bar in Waterford city, where she and other family members along with friends, team-mates from Ferrybank AC and many others willed the 24-year-old on as he broke the 400m hurdle national record once again, but just fell short of a medal.