Meet the gray-haired sprinter who could make a splash at the Paris Olympics

SAINT-DENIS, France — Gray-haired Olympians are usually found in sports like sailing, shooting, and equestrian. Not on the track.

Irish sprinter Thomas Barr is an exception.

Having turned gray prematurely in his late teens, the now 32-year-old Barr hardly pays much attention to his hair color these days.

Others do, though.

After Barr ran the third leg of Ireland’s winning 4x400-meter mixed relay at the European Championships in June — the country’s first gold at Euros in more than a quarter century — competitors made references to his hair color when they came up to congratulate him.

“When they were saying, ‘Well done,’ they were saying that I’m the golden oldie. And I like that one,” Barr told The Associated Press in an interview after the relay in Rome. “I started turning gray when I was probably 18 or 19. I’ve been asked why I haven’t dyed it. But I’m probably just too lazy to even do that.”

Helped by the speed of 21-year-old Rhasidat Adeleke, Barr and the Irish also showed their potential for the Paris Olympics when they finished third behind the United States and the Netherlands at the world relays in May. The mixed relay heats in Paris start on Friday and medals will be awarded after Saturday's final.

“It’s funny coming out here and racing against guys that are 10, 12 years younger than me,” he said. “Of course, I’m glad to just still be trying to fight strong and keep the best side out. And I’ve been fairly consistent over the last couple of years.”

Barr finished fourth in the 400 hurdles at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics — missing out on a medal by five hundredths of a second. He might not be a medal contender in his individual races anymore but he could still be a source of pride for gray-haired runners everywhere.

“There’s times when I look back at what I was doing as a younger athlete and thinking, ‘Oh, my God, that was awesome.’ But I’m still knocking about that level now, and it’s probably even better, and even sweeter to still be knocking on the door,” said Barr, who is from Waterford, a southeast county home to Waterford Crystal glassworks. “I have stuck through with a bit of resilience to get to this point. So, yeah, I suppose in a way you could call it inspirational.”

There have been plenty of older Olympians with gray hair. Then there was American swimmer Ryan Lochte, who died his hair grayish-blue in 2016. But Barr doesn’t look up to any other gray-haired competitors at the games.

“I’m sure there are plenty," he said. “There could also be a few closet gray athletes out there who are dyeing their hair.”

So how does Barr stay in such great shape?

“Doing the same thing I do every day, week in, week out,” he said. “A lot of people ask me what motivates me. This time of the year, it’s very easy to stay motivated because we have competitions. We have things to look forward to, races that we actually work towards. And this is the fun part of the season for me. Where it becomes a little bit more difficult is keeping the discipline. And I think that’s where we have to make the difference between discipline and motivation. That keeps me going through the winter."

Barr’s training group — he is a member of Ferrybank A.C. — is another motivating factor.

“It’s a huge group, a fantastic group at home that I train with,” he said. “That makes it so much easier on the tough days. So the only tip I can give people to stay motivated and stay disciplined is, find some like-minded people and make it fun.”

Whether you’re gray-haired or not.