Better late than never for Rob Heffernan as he picks up his 2010 bronze … in 2014

Four years is a lifetime to us young whippersnappers at SportsJOE so we can only imagine how long it must have felt for Rob Heffernan to be awarded his bronze medal.

The reigning 50km world champion collected the medal in Cork's City Hall this evening, four years after he finished just shy of the medal positions at the European Championships in Barcelona. But after Russia's Stanislav Emelyanov was hit with a drugs ban, third spot was rightly awarded to the Corkman. And none other than athletics legend Sonia O'Sullivan was there today to present Heffernan with his overdue medal.

And there's @RM_Heffernan with his European Bronze Medal, presented by @soniaagrith pic.twitter.com/TvAK2xqzq2 — Cork's RedFM Sport (@BigRedBench) December 19, 2014

Heffernan's bronze now brings Ireland’s European Championships medal tally to 13. "It's mind-blowing," Heffernan said earlier this week. "It justifies my whole career."