Can Adeleke and Mageean bridge Ireland's wait for world medal? Definitely maybe

The pair lead an Irish team to the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

NEXT GEN: Irish star Rhasidat Adeleke. Picture: INPHO/Dan Sheridan

For the Irish at this year’s World Athletics Championships, success will be measured in many ways. For some it’s a medal. For others, it’s a personal best, maybe scraping past the first round. So it is when competing in the most global sport, with 2,100 athletes from 202 nations descending on the National Athletics Centre in Budapest over the next nine days.

For Rhasidat Adeleke or Ciara Mageean, not making the final will feel like a failure and, given the seasons they’ve had, anything less than a podium finish might leave them harbouring what-ifs. Crunch the numbers, scan their rivals and even without any green-tinted lens, both look capable of a podium finish. Thing is, so are several of their rivals.

Mageean gets her campaign underway in the 1500m heats Saturday, with Adeleke in the 400m heats on Sunday morning. Can either be Ireland’s first world medallist since Rob Heffernan’s gold in 2013 or the first track medallist since Sonia O’Sullivan in 1995? Yes. Will they? As an old editor used to say, that’s a definite maybe.

“I can mix it with the best in the world and cover moves and deal with whatever is put in front of me,” said Mageean. “So whatever the outcome of that will be, will be, but I know I'm in the best shape I've ever been.”

Barring disaster, gold in the women’s 1500m is destined for Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon, but Mageean’s recent Irish mile record in Monaco was proof she can be in the shake-up for silver and bronze, though a trio of strong Ethiopians, Dutch star Sifan Hassan, along with Britain’s Laura Muir, have similar plans. She could run the best race of her life and finish fifth. That’s how cutthroat it is.

In the women’s 400m, meanwhile, every position looks open, and it wouldn’t come as a shock if Rhasidat Adeleke won gold. But it also wouldn’t be a surprise if she finishes eighth, or anywhere in between. The 49.20 she ran to win the NCAA title ranks her third, and a repeat of that in next Wednesday’s final will almost certainly land a medal. But can she do what she did last August, and produce her best run of the year two months after the NCAA Championships? It’s far from certain, but one thing is sure: she’ll fear no one.

“Whenever I've competed at the top stages, like European youths, U-20s, being in Europeans last year, I just know that when it comes down to it, I'm usually able to perform,” said Adeleke. “That's something I've been able to work towards: just go for it and don't pressurise myself too much. It's not the end of the world if things don't go my way.” 

It’s exactly the tone you’d hope to hear from Adeleke who, a fortnight shy of her 21st birthday, could be destined for several nation-holds-its-breath moments in the years ahead.

Sarah Lavin has already made a world indoor final and it’d crown a remarkable season if she replicates that outdoors. With a 100m hurdles best of 12.67, Derval O’Rourke’s Irish record of 12.65 is within reach, though it will take faster to reach the final.

Andrew Coscoran is also enjoying a breakthrough year, running the three fastest times in history by an Irish 1500m runner. He’s ranked 11th, with 12 set to make the final. “The competition is very tough, everyone is there or thereabouts, it depends on who’s firing on the day,” he said. “But I’m pretty confident that on my day, I can definitely take down a few good names.” 

His training partner Brian Fay will make his World Championships debut after breaking the Irish 5000m record last month. “I want to go there and compete, not be out the back door,” he says. “I want to express myself. When you come out of the NCAA you’re more relaxed, everything is a bonus. There’s everything to gain, nothing to lose.” 

For up-and-comers like Sophie O’Sullivan, Kate O’Connor and Nick Griggs, this is a chance to gain experience at the toughest level, while Sarah Healy will be keen to show what she’s looked like all year – a stronger athlete, physically and mentally. Mark English has yet to make the global final his ability long suggested, but for the four-time European medallist, there’s little to indicate it’ll happen in Budapest after an injury-hit preparation. National 800m champion John Fitzsimons will make his debut at this level, another who’ll be looking to bank experience before the Paris Olympics.

The goal for the Irish, according to High Performance Director Paul McNamara, is to surpass last year’s tally of nine top-24 finishes, which looks realistic. The public, of course, will have a far more simple metric – medals, however fair that is. Still, for the first time in 10 years, that’s not a pipe dream. It could well happen.