I was very disappointed for Ciarán O Lionaird after last night’s 1500 meter Olympic race. He was clearly overwhelmed by the occasion and there is nothing that hurts more (in a athlete’s life) than flopping like that before your family, friends and the world.
However, I was not surprised.
While I am not a regular attender of athletics events I have attended enough sports and participated as a player and a coach to be able to make certain observations. I attended the Cork City Sports recently and watched Ciarán run in the mile event. He did not perform well. There was an air of hesitation about him; an aura of doubt .
Later in the evening I watched Robert Heffernan glide around the track to take the 3,000 meters walk. There was no doubt or hesitation there.
After the event I bumped into Robert and his wife Marion out side the CIT stadium. Robert was shaking hands and standing for photographs with children. He was in great form. This is his fourth Olympics and he is very relaxed about it.
After saying good bye and good luck to Robert, I passed by Ciaran O Lionaird on the steps. The contrast could not have been greater. A cloud hung over his head. This was a man who clearly was not looking forward to the Olympic games with any degree of excitement.
This is why I am very hopeful for Robert Heffernan tonight. If confidence and experience count for anything, his obvious class should see him take an Olympic medal.
Go Robert Heffernan. Go(ld) Robert Heffernan.
True point rob is a warrior and a fierce competitor loves the heat of battle