TOM BARR CLOCKED the fastest overall time in Sunday morning’s 400m hurdles heats at the European Championships in Rome, booking his place in the semis in emphatic fashion.
Less than 48 hours after winning gold with Ireland’s mixed 4x400m relay team, Barr returned to the track and ran a season’s best time of 49.31 seconds.
“To be honest, the aim was to come out and win the heat,” the Waterford native told RTÉ’s David Gillick afterwards.
“I left myself with a little bit of work to do in the home straight but I knew I’d be strong, I went out relatively conservative.
'There comes the class of the man' - Thomas Barr wins his heat in the men's 400m hurdles after a late surge
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) June 9, 2024
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“Legs weren’t as fresh as they were the other night – I’m not a morning person anyway so I look forward to a round in the evening.
“Happy to have gotten the job done.”
Barr will line up for the semi-finals at 11.40am on Monday, where he’ll be aiming to book his place in Tuesday’s final (8.05pm).
In the men’s 200m, Mark Smyth ran a season’s best 20.93 to clinch the twelfth and final qualification place for Sunday evening’s semi finals (8.39pm).
Mark Smyth runs a season's best to qualify for the semi-final of the men's 200m
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) June 9, 2024
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Meanwhile, Nicola Tuthill marked her senior European Championship debut by qualifying for Monday’s final in the hammer (8.33pm).
The 20-year-old from Bandon saved her best throw of the day until last, throwing 69.85m to qualify in seventh place.
“I wasn’t happy with my first throw – I felt myself I was a bit tense,” she told RTÉ’s David Gillick afterwards.
“I kinda got one out so I was able to just push on from that then and make a few tweaks here and there.”
On Sunday morning, Shona Heaslip finished 34th in the women’s half-marathon and Emily Haggard-Kearney finished 64th, while Hiko Tonosa was 43rd in the men’s race.
Kelly McGrory ran a personal best time of 57.10 in the heats of the women’s 400m hurdles, but that wasn’t enough to see her progress to the semis.
In Sunday evening’s session, Rhasidat Adeleke, Sharlene Mawdsley and Sophie Becker will line up in the semi-finals of the women’s 400m (7.05pm), while Chris O’Donnell returns to the track for his men’s 400m semi (7.38pm).
Mark Smyth runs in the semi-finals of the men’s 200m from 8.35pm before medal hopefuls Ciara Mageean and Sarah Healy line up in the final of the women’s 1500m at 9.36pm.
