Rob Heffernan eyes firmly on medal

It’s his final shot, and he knows it. Rob Heffernan may have an Olympic bronze medal to his name — at least that’s what the record books say — but he has yet to lay his hands on it.

As a result, the 38-year-old Cork athlete will go to the line with a typically ravenous hunger for the 50km race walk in Rio today. It’s his fifth Olympic Games— almost certainly his last — and he wants to stand on that podium more than ever.

“People go on about the taking part, but it’s not about that,” he said. “Whether I’m going to win or not, I’m always training to win and that’s how I’ve approached it.”