Jessie Barr the sports psych who has been there and done it

“Sometimes people come in and say, ‘I get nervous and I want to change that’, but actually is that a bad thing?" says Barr whose younger brother Thomas will be running at this third Games.

RAISING THE BARR: Pictured is Team Ireland Sports Psychologist Jessie Barr, launching the FBD “Sound Support” campaign. Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie

Mum knows best. She might not have all the facts or know the mechanics of what you do, but, for most of us, no-one knows us like our mothers and so many of them have an uncanny ability to cut through the vines of life and see the clearing beyond.

Jessie Barr first hurdled for Ireland as an 18-year old at the European Junior Championships in 2007. There were World University Games and World Championships. In 2012 she ran a PB in making the final of the senior European Championships in Helsinki.