2012 WAS A big year for Jessie Barr.
Not only did she make her Olympic debut when competing in the 4×400 relay at the London Games, but she also reached the final of the 400m hurdles at the European Track & Field Championships the same year.
However, the year 2000 was even bigger.
That was the year the Waterford native first took up athletics, a decision the 25-year old says has had a positive impact on all areas of her life.
Barr was speaking yesterday at the launch GloHealth’s Sponsorship of Irish schools’ athletics and told The42 that it was competing for Ursuline that sparked her love for the sport.
“I’m really pleased to get on board. I started athletics when I was 11 so schools athletics was really important for me because the championships were ever year.
“Obviously club athletics was important too but in school it was more open to those who didn’t do athletics with a club. It was kind of open to anyone and people just happened to come along to competitions on the day because they were getting the day off school but then they discovered they actually had a bit of a talent for it which they hadn’t realised was there.”
Barr, like her brother Thomas, believes that it is the breadth of events available to those who take up athletics in schools that makes it something all kids should consider, even if it doesn’t always get the attention she believes it deserves.
“Athletics is, however, a sport that doesn’t get a lot of a look in at a lot of schools or get the same promotion as a lot of team sports do but, for me, there’s such a variety of events in athletics that, really, anyone can do it and kids can find an event for them.
“There really is an event for everyone.
“People will say, ‘oh I don’t like running so I can’t take part in athletics’ but you don’t have to be a runner to be an athlete and there are team sports, field sports, so many different strands to athletics.”
Barr, who is currently studying for a Masters in Sports Psychology, also believes the skills you learn while competing for your school will ultimately help you succeed in life, no matter what path you choose.
“You learn so many skills that you can bring into your adult life, into college and then work. As a schools athlete you definitely have to be able to time manage, especially in exam years.
“Funnily enough, my best schools athletics years came around the time I was studying for the Leaving and Junior Cert and final year in college and it’s because you’ve learned to strike a balance between sport and study.
“And I think that’s because you might have your whole day sitting in front of your desk but you have a two hour break for training and you end up enjoying that training much more because of that and when you enjoy it, you tend to benefit more from it.
“So that – and the planning with comes with that around meal time, etc – you can bring those skills into anything you do in life.”
For more information on GloHealth Irish Schools’ Athletics, the GloHealth Fit4Life Programme or the GloHealth National Championships please visit athleticsireland.ie. For more information on GloHealth please visit GloHealth.ie or follow @GloHealth on twitter or ‘like’ GloHealth on Facebook.
