Adeleke: 'I thought let’s not just do this for me, let’s do this for them'

Describing her run, Rhasidat Adeleke said 'it was so fun' out there and explained how she was thrilled by the amount of Irish support

Rhasidat Adeleke, of Team Ireland, after winning the women's 400m round one at the Stade de France. Picture: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Athletics star Rhasidat Adeleke cruised through her 400m heat in Paris to earn a semi-final place, but Monday also saw the end of Ciara Mageean’s Olympic dream as an Achilles injury forced her to pull out of the 1,500m.

Mageean, 32, won gold at the European championships earlier this year, but has been struggling with injuries for some time. Last night, she said she is “absolutely heartbroken” not to be able to compete in her third Olympics.