Jessie Barr: No doubting Thomas' ability to perform in Tokyo

Pictured is Team Ireland Sports Psychologist Jessie Barr, launching the FBD “Sound Support” campaign. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie

Jessie Barr has every confidence that her brother Thomas, who has fed off the energy of big crowds at major events in times past, will have no difficulty in adjusting to the more sedate surroundings of the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo.

The younger of the siblings finished a superb fourth in the 400m hurdles in Rio in 2016 and followed up with a bronze at the European Championships in Berlin two years later. He has said himself that he thrives on the biggest of occasions.

Tokyo will still be that but it will be light years removed from a ‘normal’ Games, even with the Japanese government now considering an increase in the numbers of spectators from 5,000 to 10,000 people.

The request that those spectators present at the likes of the Olympic Stadium clap rather than cheer their appreciation remains in place, however, meaning that the delayed 2020 Olympiad will be unique aurally as well as visually.

Barr’s preparations are in full swing, the Waterford athlete following up a season’s best of 49.91 in Doha with a 49.02 in Gothenburg and then securing his place in Japan with a 48.39 in Turku, Finland a week later. That last time was his fastest since the podium finish in Berlin and his quickest ever outside the boundaries of a major championship. His older sister, an Olympian in 2012 and now a psychologist with Team Ireland, likes what she has seen.

“I’m not training with him anymore so every race for me, I’m on the edge of my seat, because before I would have had an expectation of what shape he’s in, whereas now it’s based on what he’s telling us.

“So he’s in great form, he’s running really fast times and, look, he is a championship performer. He enjoys the major championship, the big spectacle. He loves the day and he will adjust to the situation.”

The Games begin July 23.

- Jessie Barr was launching the FBD “Sound Support” campaign. FBD Insurance is a principal sponsor to Team Ireland