RHASIDAT ADELEKE HAS booked her ticket to next month’s European Championships in style, winning the 200m at the 123.ie National Senior Track and Field Championships in Santry.
Adeleke clocked 22.80 (-1.1m/s), securing the A standard qualifying time (22.85 seconds) with her final attempt at Morton Stadium.
It was the 23-year-old’s last chance to qualify individually for Birmingham following an injury-hit stint, with the deadline on Sunday. A championship record secured her first senior outdoor national 200m title.
“I’m good, I’m blessed, I’m healthy and I’m just delighted to be here in front of this amazing home crowd,” Adeleke told Athletics Ireland after her win.
“I’ve always said this place is special. I told my coach [that] I just want to be here regardless of what I’m going for. I just want to take it all in.”
On achieving the qualifying standard for the European Championships, Adeleke continued:
“Honestly, it was something at the back of my mind. I think a lot of people thought that that was the main thing that I was going for today. But I just wanted to have fun and win. I’m just bringing it back to the basics. When you do that, good things happen. And in front of a crowd like this, special things happen.
“I didn’t doubt that I could do it but it’s about not letting the pressure consume me and just having fun.”
Adeleke has struggled with injuries over the last year, and insists that her plan is to adopt a day-by-day approach for the rest of her season.
“That’s what I learned this year – be patient. I was trying to control everything this year because I’m such type A person when it comes to these things but I just learned my lesson that whatever’s going to happen is going to happen.
“You have to be able to adapt and make a plan from there.”
Lauren Roy produced another excellent run to take silver in 23.49, while Lorena Harrison claimed bronze in 24.61. The race saw defending champion Sharlene Mawdsley unfortunately pull up sharply approaching the final 100 metres.
Advertisement
A distraught Sharlene Mawdsley after pulling up injured. Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
While the women’s 200m was the standout race of the day, ex-South Africa and soon-to-be Ireland star Benjamin Richardson claimed his maiden senior national outdoor title in the men’s equivalent in 20.64. Sean Aigboboh finished strongly for silver in 20.75, while Mark Smyth and Ryan Mulholland shared the bronze medal after dead-heating for third in 21.16.
Earlier, David Kenny opened the track programme by retaining his men’s 10,000m Race Walk title in commanding fashion. Kenny crossed the line in 38:56.24 to claim a fourth consecutive outdoor national crown.
The women’s 5,000m Race Walk produced one of the best finishes in recent years, ultimately finishing with Kate Veale securing her 24th national senior title across indoor and outdoors. Veale clocked 24:18.38 to hold off Aisling Lane in 24:21.03.
Abbie Sheridan successfully defended her women’s 3,000m steeplechase title with an impressive winning time of 9:55.60. Finley Daly claimed his third men’s 3,000m steeplechase title in four years with an authoritative victory in 8:59.70.
The field events also produced a series of high-quality performances.
Eric Favours in full flow. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
Olympian Eric Favors successfully defended his men’s shot put title with a best throw of 19.47m, while Michaela Walsh captured her seventh outdoor national title – and first since 2023 – with a winning throw of 13.11m in the women’s edition.
Conor Cusack retained the men’s javelin title with a best effort of 69.09m in difficult conditions. Kate Joyce celebrated her first senior outdoor national javelin title after producing a winning throw of 50.21m.
The women’s high jump proved one of the competitions of the day with Daena Kealy producing a lifetime best of 1.87m to secure the national title. David Cussen added a sixth outdoor national high jump title to his collection after clearing 2.15m in the men’s completion.
Daphni Doulaptsi Teeuwen successfully defended her women’s triple jump title with a winning leap of 13.06m, while Joseph Gillespie won the men’s in 14.19m.
Attention also turned to Sunday’s track finals, with a host of qualifying heats taking place throughout the day. Cian McPhillips and Sophie O’Sullivan were among the big names to process.
The men’s 1500m promises to be one of Sunday’s highlights after Andrew Coscoran, Cathal Doyle and Nick Griggs all safely negotiated their heats. Doyle posted the quickest qualifying time of 3:52.23.
The 400m heats also set the stage for Sunday’s medal races, with Sophie Becker and Rachel McCann among the standout performers in the women’s competition. Jack Raftery remains firmly on course for a third consecutive national outdoor title after recording an impressive 46.34 in qualifying.
With reporting from Emma Duffy, Sinéad Farrell and Daragh Browne, Athletics Ireland.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
3 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
'Bringing it back to basics': Rhasidat Adeleke secures European Championships qualifying time
RHASIDAT ADELEKE HAS booked her ticket to next month’s European Championships in style, winning the 200m at the 123.ie National Senior Track and Field Championships in Santry.
Adeleke clocked 22.80 (-1.1m/s), securing the A standard qualifying time (22.85 seconds) with her final attempt at Morton Stadium.
It was the 23-year-old’s last chance to qualify individually for Birmingham following an injury-hit stint, with the deadline on Sunday. A championship record secured her first senior outdoor national 200m title.
“I’m good, I’m blessed, I’m healthy and I’m just delighted to be here in front of this amazing home crowd,” Adeleke told Athletics Ireland after her win.
“I’ve always said this place is special. I told my coach [that] I just want to be here regardless of what I’m going for. I just want to take it all in.”
On achieving the qualifying standard for the European Championships, Adeleke continued:
“Honestly, it was something at the back of my mind. I think a lot of people thought that that was the main thing that I was going for today. But I just wanted to have fun and win. I’m just bringing it back to the basics. When you do that, good things happen. And in front of a crowd like this, special things happen.
“I didn’t doubt that I could do it but it’s about not letting the pressure consume me and just having fun.”
Adeleke has struggled with injuries over the last year, and insists that her plan is to adopt a day-by-day approach for the rest of her season.
“That’s what I learned this year – be patient. I was trying to control everything this year because I’m such type A person when it comes to these things but I just learned my lesson that whatever’s going to happen is going to happen.
“You have to be able to adapt and make a plan from there.”
Lauren Roy produced another excellent run to take silver in 23.49, while Lorena Harrison claimed bronze in 24.61. The race saw defending champion Sharlene Mawdsley unfortunately pull up sharply approaching the final 100 metres.
While the women’s 200m was the standout race of the day, ex-South Africa and soon-to-be Ireland star Benjamin Richardson claimed his maiden senior national outdoor title in the men’s equivalent in 20.64. Sean Aigboboh finished strongly for silver in 20.75, while Mark Smyth and Ryan Mulholland shared the bronze medal after dead-heating for third in 21.16.
Earlier, David Kenny opened the track programme by retaining his men’s 10,000m Race Walk title in commanding fashion. Kenny crossed the line in 38:56.24 to claim a fourth consecutive outdoor national crown.
The women’s 5,000m Race Walk produced one of the best finishes in recent years, ultimately finishing with Kate Veale securing her 24th national senior title across indoor and outdoors. Veale clocked 24:18.38 to hold off Aisling Lane in 24:21.03.
Abbie Sheridan successfully defended her women’s 3,000m steeplechase title with an impressive winning time of 9:55.60. Finley Daly claimed his third men’s 3,000m steeplechase title in four years with an authoritative victory in 8:59.70.
The field events also produced a series of high-quality performances.
Olympian Eric Favors successfully defended his men’s shot put title with a best throw of 19.47m, while Michaela Walsh captured her seventh outdoor national title – and first since 2023 – with a winning throw of 13.11m in the women’s edition.
Conor Cusack retained the men’s javelin title with a best effort of 69.09m in difficult conditions. Kate Joyce celebrated her first senior outdoor national javelin title after producing a winning throw of 50.21m.
The women’s high jump proved one of the competitions of the day with Daena Kealy producing a lifetime best of 1.87m to secure the national title. David Cussen added a sixth outdoor national high jump title to his collection after clearing 2.15m in the men’s completion.
Daphni Doulaptsi Teeuwen successfully defended her women’s triple jump title with a winning leap of 13.06m, while Joseph Gillespie won the men’s in 14.19m.
Attention also turned to Sunday’s track finals, with a host of qualifying heats taking place throughout the day. Cian McPhillips and Sophie O’Sullivan were among the big names to process.
The men’s 1500m promises to be one of Sunday’s highlights after Andrew Coscoran, Cathal Doyle and Nick Griggs all safely negotiated their heats. Doyle posted the quickest qualifying time of 3:52.23.
The 400m heats also set the stage for Sunday’s medal races, with Sophie Becker and Rachel McCann among the standout performers in the women’s competition. Jack Raftery remains firmly on course for a third consecutive national outdoor title after recording an impressive 46.34 in qualifying.
With reporting from Emma Duffy, Sinéad Farrell and Daragh Browne, Athletics Ireland.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Athletics