Thomas Barr boosts Olympic chances after big run in Poland

Elsewhere in Bydgoszcz, Sarah Lavin continued her fine form with a victory in the 100m hurdles, the Limerick athlete clocking 12.74 ahead of Slovakia’s Viktoria Forster

Thomas Barr reacts after their men's 400m hurdles semi-final during day four of the 2024 European Athletics Championships at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome

Thomas Barr produced his fastest 400m hurdles time since 2021 in Bydgoszcz, Poland on Thursday evening, the 31-year-old finishing second in 48.79 to launch himself into a qualifying position for the Paris Olympics.

While that was just shy of the automatic Olympic standard of 48.70, his time and the substantial placing points on offer at the Continental Tour Gold meeting will be of huge benefit to Barr’s position on the world rankings. He was 47th on the Road to Paris list going into the event, with the top-40 set to earn a place at the Games, but will now move up to around 36th with just 10 days left before the qualification window closes.