IRELAND’S Rob Heffernan has finally been handed a belated Olympic bronze medal for his effort at the 2012 Games in London.
The Cork race-walker finished fourth in the 50km event four years ago, but an investigation that rocked the world of athletics saw him upgraded to a third-place finish.
The Russian who won the race, Sergey Kirdyapkin, was stripped of his medal due to his involvement in the state-supported systematic doping regime deployed by Russian athletics, as outlined in a 335-page independent report published in November 2015.
On Thursday evening, October 3, Heffernan received his bronze medal at a reception in the City Hall in Cork before moving on to celebrate with an after-party in Soho Bar, Grand Parade.
Earlier on Thursday, the 38-year-old launched his new autobiography ‘Walking Tall’, which offers first-hand insight into the pressurised, volatile world of high-performance athletics.
It has been described as a personal, uplifting story of how a young working-class boy overcame the odds to become top-class Olympian and is available through The Collins Press.
Books on sale #corkcityhall @RM_Heffernan @WaterstonesCrk #walkingtall #robsmedal pic.twitter.com/5fbL5pTnoR
— The Collins Press (@CollinsPress) November 3, 2016
