In-form Thomas Barr closes in on Olympic spot with his fastest time in 400m hurdles since 2021
Thomas Barr ran his quickest time over 400m hurdles since the Olympic semi-final in Tokyo. File photo via Sportsfile
Thomas Barr produced his fastest 400m hurdles time since 2021 in Bydgoszcz, Poland, the 31-year-old finishing second in 48.79 to launch himself into a qualifying position for the Paris Olympics.
While that was just shy of the automatic Olympic standard of 48.70, his time and the substantial placing points on offer at the Continental Tour Gold meeting will be of huge benefit to Barr’s position on the world rankings.
He was 47th on the Road to Paris list going into the event, with the top 40 set to earn a place at the Games, but will now move up to around 36th with just 10 days left before the qualification window closes.
Barr came home second behind Brazil’s Matheus Lima (48.31), the Waterford athlete’s 48.79 his quickest time since the Olympic semi-final in Tokyo, where he clocked 48.26.
He will have the chance to further strengthen his position at the national championships on June 29-30, where substantial placing points are also on offer.
Elsewhere in Bydgoszcz, Sarah Lavin continued her fine form with a victory in the 100m hurdles, the Limerick athlete clocking 12.74 (+1.5m/s) ahead of Slovakia’s Viktoria Forster (12.96).
Lavin faced disappointment at the recent European Championships in Rome, finishing seventh in the 100m hurdles final in 12.94 after clattering the second barrier, but she bounced back in fine style with a season’s best of 12.66 to finish third earlier this week in Turku, Finland.
She is already qualified for the Paris Olympics via the national record of 12.62 she ran in the world semi-final last year.
Charlie O’Donovan was in action in the 1,500m, the Leevale athlete coming home ninth in 3:42.52.
There are currently 10 Irish athletes who are already qualified for Paris, along with two relay teams, while six others – Barr, Sophie Becker, Nicola Tuthill, Luke McCann, Cathal Doyle and Eric Favors – are currently on track to earn a spot via their world ranking.
