Thomas Barr fears lockdowns will lead to lost generation for Irish athletics

Few nations have kept the doors shut to underage sport as long and young Irish athletes are now facing a second straight summer with scant competitive outlets

Thomas Barr at the University of Limerick Sports Arena. Photo: Szymon Lazewski / Red Bull 

Like many others, Thomas Barr can’t help wonder where this all ends — the potential ripple effect on his sport of all that has occurred in Ireland over the past year.

Few nations have kept the doors shut to underage sport as long, with few as slow to open them up again, and young Irish athletes are now facing a second straight summer with scant competitive outlets.

As an elite athlete, Barr has been able to keep chugging along in relative normality, but at his training base at the University of Limerick, the eerie quietness on the track and training pitches around him makes him think about all that’s being lost.

“I think we’re going to lose a lot of the younger generation because they’ve fallen out of the habit of sport and it’s become less accessible,” he says.

“For a lot of athletes, what keeps them coming back is the constant interaction with the sport and with peers. Without that, it’s very easy to slip into a more sedentary lifestyle where you’re like: ‘Ah, I won’t bother.’”

Barr is quick to note how the pandemic hasn’t been all bad for athletics, sparking as it did an interest in running for many, but he hopes that when things open up membership numbers will rebound.

The drop-off has so far been alarming: At the end of January 2020, 35,654 athletes had registered with Athletics Ireland, but this year that figure was just 13,095.

“Some people don’t even know the talent they have, it hasn’t even been nurtured (yet), so we’re going to lose a lot of athletes, a lot of people before they even get to their peak which is a massive shame,” says Barr.

Last week’s news that this summer’s Morton Games and Cork City Sports have both been cancelled dealt a further blow, with international competition in the Republic apparently a no-go this track season.

It means athletes like Barr have no choice but to venture abroad to hone their fitness against quality opposition.

“In the middle of a pandemic where you’re not supposed to be travelling, being told the only way you can race is to go abroad (means) you’re being thrown out of that safe bubble that you’ve been in for the last year,” he says.

Barr hasn’t left the country since September, cancelling his usual warm-weather training camps in January and over Easter due to concerns over the restrictions he’d face upon his return.

Instead he’s put in the hard yards at his usual base in Limerick under the guidance of coaches Hayley and Drew Harrison.

While we haven’t been able to get the quality we could in a warm-weather camp, we’ve had really consistent training since September. I’m definitely in good shape.”

Although elite athletes will have to self-isolate for an extended period after racing on the European circuit, it’s a sacrifice Barr will have to make if he wants to be competitive in Tokyo.

“There’s no way to simulate a race in training, you have to get out there, get used to running under pressure.

“The bigger the event, the bigger performance is going to come out of me. That added bit of pressure is a good thing and that carries forward to major championships.”

He hopes to open his season at the World Athletics Relays in Poland on the first weekend of May, racing the mixed 4x400m if the Irish team gets an invite. His agent is currently sorting his racing schedule thereafter, with Barr likely to open up over 400m hurdles in mid-May and run a series of Diamond League or Continental Tour races before flying to Japan in early July, arriving at the Irish holding camp in Fukuroi three weeks before his first race.

He believes the “shine will be taken off” the usual Olympic experience a little, given the lack of interaction among athletes and the ban on foreign spectators, and Barr’s parents — who travel to every championship — will now have to watch at home in Dunmore East, Waterford.

“In Rio, there were a load of Irish with flags draped over the railings and that gave me a massive boost, but the fact the Olympics are going to go ahead is a big enough deal,” he says. “I still think it’s going to be a very cool Games to be a part of because it’s a one-off thing.

“It’s been a pretty mundane year for everyone, so I think the Olympics will be a really good breakaway from that.”

- Red Bull athlete and Wings for Life World Run ambassador Thomas Barr is encouraging runners from beginner to elite to sign up for the 2021 app run event via the app or at WingsForLifeWorldRun.com with 100% of the €20 entry fee going straight to spinal cord research. This year’s event takes place on Sunday, May 9, with participants worldwide all starting at 12pm Irish time.