Rob Heffernan’s world championship gold medal success brought Cork together 

TEN years ago this week, Rob Heffernan became Ireland's first world champion in athletics since 1995 when he won gold in the 50km walk in Moscow.

Fittingly, the last person to wear a green bib that got to say they were the best on the planet was Sonia O’Sullivan after she won the 5,000m in Gothenburg in 1995.

The victory also meant that Heffernan was Ireland's first male world champion since Éamonn Coughlan won the 5,000m race in Helsinki in 1983.

But, it was all about Cork and how two of the county's finest bookended a period for Irish athletics, with Heffernan's achievements a major cause for celebration over his near miss at London 2012.

The race walker finished fourth at the Olympics and was denied a podium finish, but this was later rectified over a failed drugs test by gold medallist Sergey Kirdyapkin. Heffernan's day came in 2016, after many years of conversations about the possibility of the race walker receiving a bronze medal.

The thought of that happening was a million miles from Moscow in August 2013. 

The focus was on the World Championships, with Russia's Mikhail Ryzhov listed as favourite to win the 50km walk on home soil. 

As for Heffernan, he was seen as a medal hope but few pundits predicted that he would take home gold.

Heffernan started well and never dropped below tenth, even when Russian pair Ivan Noskov and Mikhail Ryzhov pulled clear.

By the halfway stage in the race, Heffernan was leading the pack while trying to keep sight of the favourite, who was right on his heels.

Heffernan managed to cross the finish line with one minute two seconds separating him from Ryzhov. 

What made this more impressive, was that he was one warning away from disqualification. 

His total time for the race was three hours, 37 minutes and 56 seconds, and that was enough to win gold.

When he crossed the line and it dawned on him that he was a world champion, Heffernan was stuck for words when speaking to the media in the Russian capital.

"It's hard to take it all in at the moment. I'm delighted," he said.

"I wanted to go to Moscow and take on the Russians in Moscow and that's what I did. I'm very proud that an Irish man can come to Russia and beat them in walking.

"It's surreal, it's just a great feeling," he finished up.

After taking a moment, Heffernan was able to talk about how he prepared for the world championships after what happened in London.

"I was prepared for everything coming into it. I stayed thoroughly motivated this year after London, when a lot of people take their foot off the gas. 

"I was very conscious of training hard and I had to be more motivated because there was less hype for the world championships. 

"I was prepared for that mentally," he explained.

Heffernan's achievements were broadcast around the world and the story was picked up by the BBC, The Guardian, and The Independent.

As the news reached home, people started celebrating in Cork. 

Over 2,000 people came out for his homecoming on St Patrick Street and that was followed by a reception at Togher AC, the club that Heffernan started off with.

He was even paraded through the from the junction of Togher Road and Edward Walsh Street to the local community centre in an open top car with a pipe band.

Heffernan’s career went full-circle at the reception, as he talked about the race while paying tribute to his old coaches, such as John D Hayes. 

Ted Murray, a founder of Togher AC, was also in attendance at the event in the community centre.

Even though the night was for Heffernan, there was a keen emphasis on the next generation with the gold medal seen as a launchpad for the next generation of athletes on Leeside.

“It is hoped that the club will be in a position to offer places to kids from the ages of seven up in a few months,” Togher AC club secretary Aidan Hartnett said at the time.

“Rob has never forgotten his club, or where he came from. We are hoping that, with Rob’s success and his high profile, more people will come out to our club to see what we’re made of.” 

The party brought together every aspect of Cork. Heffernan was even brought to his old school, Colaiste Chriost Ri, and he spoke to the students after getting introduced by athletics coach Brendan Crowley. 

That is where he first learned to race walk, with Br Sweeney introducing Heffernan to the sport when he was a teenager. 

The two became friends for life, with the world champion regularly meeting up with his old coach to teach buddying athletes at Criost Ri.

Heffernan also gave an exhibition of race walking on the pitch at Croke Park before the 2013 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship final between Cork and Clare.

Three years later, the gold medal was joined by bronze for the 50km race walk at the 2012 Olympic Games. 

A collection was complete and a legacy was cemented.