Rhasidat Adeleke at the age of 20 years old is the fourth fastest woman in the world over 400 metres. Racing in her first major international final she was in a medal position deep into the closing 100 metres but just got pipped into fourth place in what is being called one of the deepest 400 metre fields in history.
The potential for her to become a true superstar is enormous and the Paris Olympics is just around the corner.
“I gave it all I had and that’s my goal every time I go out onto the track,’ she told Virgin Media from the track last night. “I executed my race plan and I’d be kicking myself if I didn’t stick to it and things didn’t work out”.
“To come out here at the end of August and come 4th in the world is something I can be proud of. I’m 20 years old and I’m going to keep working and improve over the next 12 months so I’m looking forward to what’s to come”.
The Tallaght sprint sensation advanced as an automatic qualifier after finishing second in her semi-final in a time of 49.87, becoming the first Irish sprint finalist at a World Championships since David Gillick and O’Rourke in 2009.
The women’s 400m medals went the way of Marileidy Paulino (DOM) 48.76 NR, Natalia Kaczmarek (POL) 49.57, and Sada Williams (BAR) 49.60.
Sarah Lavin also played her part on one of the most memorable nights in recent Irish athletics history, only 24 hours after Ciara Mageeans heroics.
In the semi-final of the 100m hurdles, Lavin broke Derval O’Rourke’s long-standing national record with a stunning 12.62 NR less than an hour before Adeleke’s final.
Lavin took her place in the starting blocks alongside five athletes who boasted personal bests of 12:50 or better and the Limerick star looked very much at home in the company, finishing 5th in the new national record of 12.62.
“Bittersweet, but we’ve got it. I’ve dreamt about that national record for so long and Derval set the bar so high. I’m not going through to the final, but I was up there with some of the best in the world and twelve months out from the Paris Olympics, I’m where I want to be”.
“I felt like a local when I came into the stadium this evening, the cheer from Irish fans here was just unbelievable. It’s been a difficult time, but I’ve definitely had something wonderful around me for the last few months and I’m so grateful for that”.
Day 6 – Thursday August 24th
Brendan Boyce (Finn Valley AC) is back for his 6th straight World Championships in the 35km Race Walk this morning.
Boyce has enjoyed several stand-out performances at previous editions of the championships, no more so than his 6th place finish in Doha back in 2019. Last year saw Boyce finish 25th at the World Championships in Oregon, with his final time of 2.33.31 less than 1 minute off his personal best.
Brian Fay will go in the heats of the 5,000m at 18:00 this evening. The Dubliner produced the race of his life to finish second in a top-quality field last month, crossing the line in a time of 13.01.40 to break the record of Alistair Cragg which had stood since September 2011.
Mark English was badly hampered in his 800m heat yesterday, but the Finn Valley athlete ran a huge race to get back up for 4th place in a season’s best of 1:45:71 which will see him back on track for the semi-final evening at 20:08.
