THOMAS BARR FINISHED second in his heat of the men’s 400m hurdles at the Japan National Stadium to guarantee his progression to the semi-finals.
The 29-year-old, competing in his second Olympic Games, was placed in a strong field and finished second to the world record holder and world champion Karsten Warholm of Norway.
Barr started strongly to put himself in contention early on, but seemed to slip of the pace momentarily approaching the final 100m.
However the Waterford native managed to pick up his speed and finished strongly, moving from third into second just before crossing the line with an excellent time of 49.02, which safely sent him through and also guarantees a good lane in his semi-final, which will take place Sunday afternoon.
#Athletics
— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) July 30, 2021
Yes Tom!🔥🇮🇪
Safely through in 2nd place with a time of 49.02 for @TomBarr247
The Rio Olympics fourth placer moves on to the Semi-finals!
#TeamIreland #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/Jww4EiCCQB
World record holder Warholm was first at 48.65, while Italian Alessandro Sibilio came in third behind Barr at 49.11.
The top four from each heat qualify automatically, with four best-time qualifiers also advancing to the semi-finals.
“My aim going into this was to get second place behind Warholm,” Barr said.
“I knew he could just turn on the taps so there was no point in trying to blow past him.
“The semi-final in two days’ time is going to be like a final. I have to run it like a final because I’m probably going to need to get a PB, or close to it, to get through.”
Updated at 8.11am with reaction from Thomas Barr.
