Every athlete has to worry about clearing the first hurdle, especially at a major championship. It’s a slightly bigger worry when those hurdles are for real.
Yet barring any major mishap – and there’s no excusing that pun this week – Thomas Barr should have no worries progressing through his heat of the 400m hurdles. The 22-year-old from Waterford hasn’t come to Zurich to make up the numbers: the least of his ambition is progressing to Friday’s final.
He’s the first of 10 Irish athletes straight into the action on the opening day of the 22nd European Athletics Championships. Although they’ve gone biennial since 2012, this edition, in a non-Olympic year, carries a lot more gravitas. It certainly feels like the eve of something a lot larger than Helsinki two years ago, when the championships didn’t feature any walks or marathon, and were missing several star athletes who had greater interest in the London Olympics.
This time, all the top Europeans are here, and the first medals of the championships will be decided on the opening day too, including the women’s 10,000m, which sets off this evening as a straight final (7.20pm Irish time).
Fionnuala Britton finished a brave fourth two years ago, having done much of the front-running, although her form on the track this summer is best described as quiet.
Two of the athletes who finished ahead of her last time – Portugal’s winner Dulce Felix and Britain’s runner-up Jo Pavey – are back again. And Britton season’s best of 32:57.19 (almost a minute and a half slower that her personal best) ranks her only 19th of the 26 starters. There’s no reason Britton can’t mix it with the main contenders, but it will take a dramatic return to her back-to-back European Cross Country winning form of two years ago to enable her stay the distance long enough to contend for a medal.
However, there is then the small matter of Saturday’s marathon, in which Britton is also entered, despite never running the distance before. According to her coach Chris Jones the focus all summer has been on the track, although the marathon also presented Britton with a unique opportunity.
“It terms of training, her target here, it’s been all about the 10,000m,” said Jones. “I think she’s coming into very good shape, and has been very business-like in her preparation. She ran very well to finish fourth two years ago, but this is a far more competitive field that two years ago and we knew it would. But Fionnuala has got lots of experience, and knows well how these championships unfold.
“Now there have been a lot of different opinions thrown out as to why she’s running the marathon as well, four days later. But all through the winter we were considering the best marathon opportunity. That came up here, when a couple of the Irish women dropped out with injury, and it was Fionnuala’s decision all along. It might sound a little outside normal thinking, but she’s fully intent on going the distance, learning as much as she can, because she probably won’t run another championship marathon until the Rio Olympics. Her conditioning levels are very high and the course might well suit her too.”
Barr, meanwhile, is still ranked third best in his event, thanks to the 48.90 seconds Irish 400m hurdles he clocked in Geneva in early June. Only the Estonia Rasmus Magi (48.77) and Britain’s Niall Flannery (48.80) have run quicker this season, although Barr has already beaten Magi, at the European Team Championships, in early June. That’s not saying he’ll just waltz through his heat. Drawn in lane two, not ideal for his long, ranging stride, Barr will have two sub-50 second men outside him in Germany’s Felix Franz and Belgium’s Tim Rummens. But with the first four progressing – plus the four fastest losers across the five heats – Barr could probably afford a minor mishap and still progress.
What does matter is his time and position, however, as that will help determine his lane for tomorrow’s semi-finals – where things will be a little more interesting.
Also going in this morning’s heats of the 400m hurdles is Jason Harvey. And the 23-year-old is looking to go at least one round better than last month’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where competing for Northern Ireland, he was knocked out in the heats, clocking 52.06. Harvey’s preparations had been hampered by an ankle injury, and here, also drawn in lane two (in heat five), a time close to his season best of 50.64 should see him through.
Later, Mark English will also look to clear his first hurdle towards a place in the 800m final. He is ranked fourth best in Europe this season, on 1:45.03, and will go in the second of four heats, with only the top three (and the three fastest losers) progressing to the semi-finals. He will have Britain’s Andrew Osagie for company – who has run 1:43.77 in 2012 – and again only a major mishap will deny English another round.
It mightn’t be so easy for Declan Murray, the American-born athlete who is making his international debut in an Irish vest. At 23, Murray has considerable experience from the American college scene, although his best of 1:46.83 will need to improve. His heat also contains Poland’s Adam Kszczot, who has run 1:44.50 this summer.
Brian Gregan (400m) and Sarah Lavin (100m hurdles) also have difficult draws. Gregan is capable of going through on paper, although for Lavin, European junior silver medallist last summer, the quality of opposition speaks for itself: all seven other athletes in her heat have run quicker. There is, of course, always room for mishap in the hurdles.
Irish in action today
(All times Irish) 10.00 – 400m hurdles (round one): Thomas Barr/Jason Harvey 10.40– 100m (round one): Amy Foster/Phil Healy 11.50 – 400m (round one): Brian Gregan/Richard Morrissey 12.30 – 100m hurdles (round one): Sarah Lavin 19.05 – 800m (round one): Mark English/Declan Murray 19.10 – 10,000m (final) Fionnuala Britton 19.56 – 100m hurdles (semi-final) Sarah Lavin
