Adeleke omission the only sour note on golden weekend for Irish athletics

Rhasidat Adeleke stamped her superiority over Europe’s best teenage sprinters but won't be at the Olympics

Sun, 18 Jul, 2021 - 15:18

Cathal Dennehy

There had never been a weekend like this for Irish athletics, at least not at an underage championships: four gold medals arriving in quick succession at the European U-20s in Tallinn, Estonia, won by a trio of athletes who look capable of progressing to the very highest level.

Among them it was an 18-year-old from Tallaght who shone brightest, Rhasidat Adeleke stamping her superiority over Europe’s best teenage sprinters, sparking unbridled hope for the future of Irish athletics. If ever there was a doubt about just how good an athlete Adeleke is, she dispelled it in emphatic fashion.

No one got close to her in the 100m or 200m final, the Dubliner winning the 100m on Friday in 11.34 before running 22.90 to win the 200m by a street, faster than any Irishwoman in history. And she’s just 18.

If there was one thing that stung for many, it’s that here was an athlete who will not be in action at the Tokyo Olympics. Adeleke fell agonisingly short of qualifying while focusing on the 100m and 200m in recent months, but seemed a sensible choice for one of the three female spots on the mixed 4x400m after splitting a 50.96-second leg at the NCAA Championships in June, almost a full second faster than any other Irish athlete this year.

“This will be looked back upon as one of the worst decisions ever made by Irish athletics,” wrote Sonia O’Sullivan on Twitter, describing Adeleke’s situation as “clearly an outlier where exceptions should be made and brave decisions taken.”

It was a point echoed by Eamonn Coghlan, who wrote that he “can’t understand why” she wasn’t selected.

The reality was Adeleke was overlooked due to her lack of outdoor 400m races this summer. In the 4x400m yesterday that concluded her weekend, she clocked the fastest split in the field with 52.54, going for broke over the first half to haul the Irish team up into third, before fading to fifth in the home straight, their effort rewarded with an Irish U20 record of 3:37.39.

There was a fine performance too by Bandon’s Diarmuid O’Connor who set an Irish U20 decathlon record of 7604 points to finish fourth, setting personal bests in eight out of 10 events.

It was a breakthrough weekend on other fronts, too, with a duo of Irish teenage middle-distance talents ascending to the top of the European order. First there was Cian McPhillips, the 19-year-old from Longford running a masterful tactical race in the men’s 1500m final, spending his energies in economic fashion before kicking to gold in 3:46.55. His first medal at this level, but almost certainly not his last.

Moments later a new star announced himself in astonishing fashion, his name, Nick Griggs, being one that’s worth remembering if this is the first time you’ve read it. The 16-year-old from Tyrone only took up athletics last year and had faced tragedy this summer, his older brother Joshua dying after a workplace accident in early June. It was impressive enough that Griggs got on the line at all, but in the men’s 3000m final on Saturday he did far more, racing like a man amongst boys.

In reality, Griggs was the youngest in the field by more than a year but after easing to the front he showed a range of gears that none of Europe’s best teenagers could match, sprinting to gold in 8:17.18. There may be many rivers to cross before it all translates to senior success, but as of right now, there’s no denying Ireland has three of the very brightest prospects in European athletics.