Amidst the superlatives of the Irish ladies hockey team and Rhys McClenaghan’s amazing gold medal in gymnastics, it was the European Athletics championships which caught my attention most last week.

I will always argue that athletics is the most natural sport of all. Leaving the obvious questions about drugs aside just for one moment, athletics at the highest level is arguably as exciting as it gets when it comes to any sport.

Having been lucky enough to work at two Olympic games, there is something very special about sitting in an arena, a modern day coliseum when its full at a big meet.

I’ll never forget being there for Usain Bolt's gold medal wins in the 200 metres in Beijing and Rio. And growing up, two of my all-time spine-tingling sporting memories were Eamon Coghlan winning the world championship 5,000 metres in 1983 and John Treacy winning a marathon silver at the Los Angeles Olympics a year later.

Boost

And last week, Irish track athletics which has been starved of any great success in recent years, was given a timely boost with Thomas Barr’s magnificent bronze medal in the 400 metres final at the European Championships in Berlin.

It was one of those sporting moments where I found myself standing in front of the TV shouting him on. I did the same watching Ciara Mageean's brave run in the 1,500 metres final agonisingly finishing fourth. But back to Barr. For athletics purists, this was a faultless performance and it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

The interview with David Gillick on RTE moments later was a thing of beauty. It is quite remarkable the difference between individual and team sports when it comes to the honesty of a media interview.

Interview

Rugby players, soccer players and GAA players would put you asleep with their well rehearsed clichéd interviews whereas you never know what you are going to get from an individual in sport.

Boxers and athletes are among the most interesting interviewees. But for the athlete, unlike the boxer or the golfer, they are absolutely and totally on their own when they go into battle.

When the gun goes, there is no coach, no caddy, no team manager, no tools save for running shoes. It’s just you and the race.

It is what makes running the most natural and original of all sport. It is just a pity that there are some who cheat and besmirch the sport and which will make some laugh at my claim of it being the most natural sport.

But go to Morten stadium and watch the younger club athletes, particularly the 15-,16- and 17-year-old competitors, racing and it is fantastic entertainment.

When the gun goes, there is no coach, no caddy, no team manager, no tools save for running shoes

It is also heartening to see so many young people competing, particularly at schools level on the track and cross country. On any given day where there is a national juvenile or schools athletics meet, it is packed with competitors.

International success

And it is bearing some fruit at the speed end of the running spectrum with the likes of Phil Healy and of course Thomas Barr whereas we have been more used to international success at middle and long distance.

Watch this space. As Ireland continues to box above its weight in sport, the glory days of running mightn’t be that far away again. Here’s hoping.

And hats off to Thomas Barr for what will be an unsung sporting achievement alongside all our other great international successes of 2018.

Litter

It is sad yet not surprising to hear that so many of our riversides are considered dirty and littered by EU standards. Why in this day and age do people think that it is OK to leave their filth behind them? Morons.