Thomas Barr has become the first Irish athlete to reach a 400m hurdles semi-final since Bob Tisdall in 1932.
The Waterford hurdler smashed through the closing hurdles to surge up from fifth to second and claim an automatic place in tomorrow’s semi-finals.
Barr’s time of 48.93 is by a long way his best of the year – overtaking his previous season’s best of 50.09 by well over a second.
It’s the fifth fastest time of his career, coming quarter of a second away from his lifetime best and national record set in Rome last year at the Golden Gala Diamond League event – 48.65.
Keisuke Nozawa of Japan was unchallenged at the front, winning in 48.62 seconds, a new personal best, with Barr rocketing past Eric Cray of the Philippines, Jamaican Jaheel Hyde and Sergio Fernandez of Spain to take his place in the next round.
Good man @TomBarr247! 2nd in 400m Hurdles and through to semis with season's best 48.93! #TeamIreland pic.twitter.com/Mr93HI8YEz
— Team Ireland (@olympiccouncil) August 15, 2016
Barr exited at the semi-finals stage of the European Championships in Amsterdam, but had only been fully fit for three weeks prior to that this season, but had still helped in bringing the 4x400m relay team close to qualifying for Rio.
The Irish record holder said afterwards: “I didn’t expect that. I came home with 48.93 and I was looking at the other races, thinking a low 49 would be need to take this.
“I didn’t know that I had this in me. To go sub-49 in what’s really my first proper race of the year, where I’m actually race-fit and ready to go, is incredible.
“I’m just as much relieved as I am excited and delighted and thrilled, and everything else to have got through that with an excellent time.
“It was kind of reminiscent of my World University Games final, whereby I was in check with the top guys coming over hurdle 7 and 8, and I knew once I was coming up at even pace with the boys coming up over the last two hurdles, I could keep my pace and maintain focus, and nail it.
“I felt I still had the finish in my legs, and came home nice and strong. So here I am going into a semi-final tomorrow.”
Barr thought at best he might be looking at a fastest loser’s spot going into the semi-finals, but instead picked up something far better: “To be honest, I didn’t think I would be up there with them. I thought I would be standing in the mixed zone afterwards, looking at the clock, waiting for a fastest semi spot if anything.
“So I’m delighted with how it panned out. I’ve got myself an automatic qualifier, and ran a fast time and it’s literally filled me with excitement and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Earlier, Sara Treacy finished 17th for Ireland in the women’s 3000m steeplechase final.
Treacy, who was advanced to the final after a fall last on in her semi-final where she was one of three runners taken out, took up a position at the back of the field early on, and while the first couple of laps were tightly bunched, the Irish athlete couldn’t force her way into the top group.
She came home in 17th, in 9 minutes 52.70 seconds.
Ruth Jebet, now running for Bahrain, took the honours in 8:59.75, a new Asian record that was just outside the world record of Gulnara Galkina’s set at the 2008 Olympics.
Hyvin Jepkemoi of Kenya was second in 9:07.12 with Emma Coburn of the USA third in a North American and USA record of 9:07.63.
Treacy said: “When I was talking after the semi-final the last day, I didn’t even know an appeal was going in. I went back to find out my appeal was looking good, and all of a sudden I was in the final.
“I thought well I’d better go and warm down then and get ready!
“I tried to make the most of the opportunity and I did what I could out there but my legs just weren’t playing the game today so I’ll recover from this and look at the next big target.
“It was quite a pace in this final, I was expecting that.
“Everything was as I wanted it to go, I just didn’t move up in the middle kilometre as I wanted to, and picking people off at the back of the field.
“I knew I wasn’t on world record pace – they ran close to that, sub-9 at the front.
“I tried to run my own race but just didn’t have the legs.”
There’s no Irish participation in the evening session at the Engenhão Olympic Stadium, as the men’s 800m and pole vault, and women’s 400m are decided.
