Waterford’s Thomas Barr will, next Monday, become the latest Waterford athlete to become an Olympian. Here he was leaving Dublin Airport with Team Ireland recently. Photo: Inpho.

The Olympic Games began in Rio last week end but the Athletics which many regard as the Central attraction of the Games begins this weekend and once again Waterford will be represnted by an athlete at the Games as has happened each Olympiad since 1980.Thomas Barr from Ferrybank AC a native of Graiguearrida, Dunmore East runs for Ireland in the 400 metres hurdles and he becomes the second member of the Barr family to compete at the games, his sister Jessie was a member of the Irish 4×400 metres relay team in London in 2012 Not for the first time the Olympics have been embroiled in doping scandals with some of the most powerful countries involved  and some not so powerful and in simple terms it means cheating and since time began cheating has been going on and still going on in every occupation  and profession there is in the world. So sport is not in isolation in this respect. The sad part of it is that the “clean “athletes who are in the majority are the ones that suffer.

Great Tradition
Athletes born in County Waterford  who have participated at Olympiads are as follows; John Treacy, Villierstown on four successive occasions 1980.1984,1988 and 1992, he was silver medallist in the Marathon in 1984 in his first ever Marathon with a time of 2 hrs 9 minutes 56 seconds a new Irish record at the time, and earlier he was10 th in the10000 Metres final timed at 28 minutes 28.68, Treacy was 7th in the
5000 metres final in 1980 in 13.23.7 just three places behind Eamon Coghlan timed at 13.22.8 a few days after collapsing in the 10000 metres. Susan Smith Waterford City competed in the 400 metres Hurdles in 1996 and 2000. In 1996 she reached the semi final and finished 5th in 54.93 seconds missing out by just one place to make the final, in 2000 she was eliminated in the first round finishing 4th in 57.08 and just missing out by one place on making the semi final,she still holds the Irish 400 Metres hurdles record. Patricia Walsh Ferrybank,
Waterford City competed in 1984, where she did exceptionally well finishing ninth in the Discus, with 55.38 Metres, she still holds the Irish record in that event. Jamie Costin An Rinn competed in 2000 and 2008 in  the  50 km Walk finishing  39 th and 44 th respectively and was also selected in 2004 but a few days before the event in Athens had a car crash which forced him to pull out. next came Jessie Barr in 2012 on the Irish 4 x 400 metres relay team which didn’t progress and this year her brother Thomas runs n the 400 metres hurdles.

Three Olympian athletes who spent a lot of their lives in Waterford were Peter O’Connor,Theo Phelan, both long deceased and Brendan Quinn. Peter O’Connor was born in England, came to Co Wicklow as a child and to Waterford in his twenties and was a solicitor by profession living the rest of his life in Waterford. At the 1906 Inter Calated  Olympic Games hewas Gold Medalist in the Triple Jump 14.07 Metres and Silver medallist in Long Jump, 7.02 Metres, he was World Record Holder in Long Jump for thirty years and Irish record holder for nearly 90 years. Theo Phelan a native of Clonmel from a great family of athletic brothers came to live in Riverview, Ferrybank as a child later moved to Dublin competed in 1928 in the Triple Jump, in the first round jumped 13.73 Metres but was eliminated, Brendan Quinn who came to Waterford as a young child and lives in Waterford City all his life, competed in 1988 where he got through first Round to semi final in 3000 Metres Steeplechase where he finished 9 th in 8.40.87, and eliminated, he still holds the Irish Steeplechase record. He was also selected for two other Olympics but had to withdraw due to injury. And is still very much involved in coaching locally.

Curtailed season
Thomas Barr  who won the World University 400 metres hurdles last year and has a personal best time of 48.64 seconds has had a very curtailed season due to a re occurring  hip injury. He competed in the European Championships last month making the semi final and he also ran very well in the Irish relay team there the team making the final but a few weeks ago he had to withdraw from a race in Dublin mainly as a precaution. He will be in action on Monday August 15 th in Round 1 at 3.35 pm, the semi final is on Tuesday at 1.35 am and the final on Thursday.at 4 pm Even to get out of a heat is a very difficult task at major championships as is the semi final as in most cases only two will qualify to progress. One thing is certain Thomas may have to  be capable to run faster than ever before even to progress to the semi final and hopefully he is fully recovered from his injury to enable him to give it his best shot.  He faces several athletes who have dipped under the 48 seconds  and the winner of the European Championship last month Copello a Cuban running for from Turkey will be hard to beat. All in Waterford athletics wish Thomas the very best in his difficult task in among the world’s best. Irish athletes
expected to figure prominently  in Rio are Rob Heffernan 50k walk,Mark English 800 m, Fionnula McCormack marathon and 10000m and Ciara McGeehan 1500m.