ATHLETICS: IRELAND IS already down one medal hope for the World Championships in Daegu following the sudden withdrawal yesterday of race walker Robert Heffernan.
Hefferan was already in Daegu as the championships get underway on Saturday, but left yesterday along with his wife, the 4x400 metre relay runner Marian Heffernan following the tragic death of Robert’s mother, Maureen, at her home in Cork yesterday.
Robert and Marian – nee Andrews – got the news while at the training camp in South Korea yesterday morning, and immediately made arrangements to leave the team, the championships and make their sad journey back home to Cork. Mrs Heffernan died following a domestic accident at her home on the outskirts of Cork City.
“The sad news was broken to Robert and Marian by the Irish team manager, Patsy McGonagle, yesterday morning and no time was wasted in arranging an immediate flight home and they are due to arrive in Cork later this evening” said Sinéad Galvin, marketing manager of Athletics Ireland.
Heffernan was coming into good form after recent injury having won the Irish 10k title on the track in Santry earlier this month – his ninth such title –and just missed a medal in both the 20km and 50km events in the European Championships in Barcelona last year, with two brave fourth place finishes. Previously he finished sixth in the World Championships in Osaka in 2007.
