Irish Olympian Thomas Barr joined Jarlath for a fascinating conversation about his life and career while in the thick of his preparation for Tokyo. Thomas is one of Ireland's biggest medal hopes for the upcoming games. He speaks for the first time about his discomfort when put in front of the media, the days in which his commitment to his sport is most tested and why he believes dopers will always be one step ahead of the testers.

 

Thomas explains the influence, bound and mutual support between him and his Olympian sister Jessie and how he unwinds watching some pretty strange videos on YouTube. Can he go all the way in Tokyo? Jarlath asks if the strange circumstances might work in his favour.

 

This episode was made possible by Darragh Bambrick. Darragh followed Thomas for “Horizon Tokyo” an extraordinary documentary series that followed 9 Irish athletes on and off the track for 3 years as they try to qualify for the Olympic games in Tokyo. Catch it on the RTÉ player.

 

To hear every episode in full and to gain access to the entire back-catalogue of over 500 Irishman Abroad episodes that are not available on iTunes for just the price of a pint every month visit www.patreon.com/irishmanabroad  

 

Supplementary research provided by John Meagher.

 

The Irishman Abroad Liveline is now open. You can now get in touch with us and feature on our shows by sending your WhatsApp voice note to 0044 7543 122 330. Why not pose a running question to Irish Olympic Legend Sonia O'Sullivan or ask our America Correspondent Marion McKeone her thoughts on a current talking point Stateside? Of course, if you have an issue with traffic or elephants on the loose in your area, Jarlath can do his best to sort that out too.

 

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