“Anything can happen.”
Those were the words of Thomas Barr after his semi-final run of 48.99 got him into the mix in Thursday evening’s European Championship 400-metres hurdles final, in Berlin.
Hours before his final run, Barr felt compelled to respond to some of the well wishers before heading to the stadium to lace up.
Thanks for all the good luck messages everyone! Let’s go have some fun! Run fast, turn left, and jump… simples.
— Thomas Barr (@TomBarr247) August 9, 2018
Having finished 4th in the 2016 Olympics, Barr would have fancied his chances going up against some of the cream of the European crop.
History was not on his, or Ireland’s, side as it was 84 years since an Irish athlete won a European Championship sprint medal.
At 7:19pm, the Waterford native ended the wait.
A stunning run down the back straight saw him burn off his nearest competitors to finish third and a bronze medal was secured.
Warholm Karsten of Norway claimed gold while Yasmani Copello of Turkey was narrowly beaten into second. Barr was a comfortable third in a season’s best time of 48.31 seconds.
