With so much controversy surrounding Irish sport in the past 48 hours, it was unfortunate that Thomas Barr's absolutely outstanding performance in the men's 400m hurdles semi-final.
Barr left all his opponents in his wake with a blistering run, and after a truly fantastic interview with David Gillick the country was eagerly anticipating the final.
Team Ireland were on hand to lend some support in the stadium.
Great job @gary_o_donovan making sure the flags are sorted in the Athletics Stadium. #TeamIreland pic.twitter.com/8mj0qdtud1
— Team Ireland (@olympiccouncil) August 18, 2016
Tricolours everywhere! Whatever happens from here, you've been an inspiration to us all, Tom! Tune in right now to watch his Olympic final!
— Mark English (@markenglish_) August 18, 2016
Plenty of Irish flags starting to appear around the stadium. ???#TeamIreland @TomBarr247 ???
— Padraig Harrington (@padraig_h) August 18, 2016
There was excruciating tension as a false start eliminated one of the contenders...
So Javier Culson, Olympic bronze medallist, is out. Lane 3 beside Barr will be empty.
— Niall Kelly (@niallkelly) August 18, 2016
Pure drama. False start and it's Javier Culson disqualified
— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) August 18, 2016
False start not this guy. Look at those flags in the background! Tense much? pic.twitter.com/cKh3ojBqop
— Team Ireland (@olympiccouncil) August 18, 2016
And then it all went down... Thomas Barr missed out on a medal by five-hundredths of a second...
SO CLOSE!! Thomas Barr ran a fantastic race and set another Irish record, and if it was the 410m hurdles we would have been laughing!
The reactions came flooding in, everyone proud of the effort he made.
Incredible effort from @TomBarr247 so unlucky but class all the same #recordbreaker #FutureIsBright ??
— Simon Zebo (@SimonZebo) August 18, 2016
4th in an Olympics doesn't always mean no medal, just saying. Stunning effort from Barr to go below 48 seconds.
— Cathal Dennehy (@Cathal_Dennehy) August 18, 2016
Fourth. So cruel. Brilliant last 100.
— Paul Howard (@AkaPaulHoward) August 18, 2016
Bear in mind he only set the national record two days ago - 48.39. Two days later he takes 0.4 off it. Only one-twentieth of a second away.
— Gavan Reilly (@gavreilly) August 18, 2016
So heartbreakingly close, but what a performance to break 48 seconds! You done good, @TomBarr247.
— ⭐ amy o'connor ⭐ (@amyohconnor) August 18, 2016
47.97 national record for Thomas Barr. Heartbreakingly close to an Olympic medal. An absolute legend #TeamIreland
— Peter Farrell (@PeterFarr_) August 18, 2016
Well done, @TomBarr247: the race of your life. So close to an #Olympic medal. Waterford's second greatest ever Olympian. #Waterford
— Dermot Keyes (@DermotKeyes) August 18, 2016
Stunning run by Thomas Barr. What a home straight. #TeamIreland pic.twitter.com/mMb0Expo4G
— Mark_Coughlan (@Mark_Coughlan) August 18, 2016
Don't 4get Barr is young, was injured for a lot of the season and will comeback and medal @London2017 #athletics pic.twitter.com/VnSgfhiLNW
— Pierce O'Callaghan (@Pierceathletics) August 18, 2016
Thomas Barr - gutted. Not just because nationality but knocked off podium by an absolute cheat.
— Ewan MacKenna (@EwanMacKenna) August 18, 2016
Feck it! Or Brlliant!! Not quite sure which. Congratulations @TomBarr247 Seriously proud of that run.
— Killian Byrne (@killianbyrne) August 18, 2016
One moment Barr will rue: he fell one stride short of planned stride pattern at hurdle 7, had to change legs. In the end, it cost him bronze
— Cathal Dennehy (@Cathal_Dennehy) August 18, 2016
ANOTHER national record! So close
— Cian Healy (@ProperChurch) August 18, 2016
So proud, gutted and delighted all at once. Inspiring by @TomBarr247 Legendary performance. Can't believe what it took to medal. #Rio2016
— Ailís McSweeney (@AilisMc) August 18, 2016
@TomBarr247 you absolute hero! I know the feeling of finishing 4th but I also know what a motivation it is! #TeamIreland #nationalrecord
— Annalise Murphy (@Annalise_Murphy) August 18, 2016
Well Thomas Barr, hold your head high. Superb effort
That's what Olympics are all about #Rio2016— Bernard Dunne (@Bernard_Dunne) August 18, 2016
So proud of @TomBarr247 4th place is heartbreaking when you're so close but you were phenomenal. Hold your head high! ??
— Fiona Doyle (@Fionamdoyle) August 18, 2016
Thomas Barr you Legend !
— R & M Heffernan (@RM_Heffernan) August 18, 2016
He did us proud out there, a phenomenal run and something to give us all hope for the future.
Well done Thomas Barr!
