The solar eclipse had positively underwhelmed the Alexander Stadium by the time Rhasidat Adeleke came striding into the mixed zone, but there was no concealing her delight and perhaps some wonder too after what she’d just produced inside the hot arena.
Not just a blazing return to her prime, a loud bang of a performance right when she wanted it most. With a lifetime worth of sprinting firsts already to her name, Adeleke had also become the first Irish woman to make a European Championship final in the 200 metres. And she’s far from done yet.
Winning the third semi-final in 22.43 seconds, her best race in two years by some distance, Adeleke pretended to fan herself after she’d crossed the line. A little jest perhaps that yes, she’s back, and things are only heating up.
“That’s part of me having fun,” Adeleke said, looking as relaxed and confident as she’s ever been. “I think before, previous Championship and Europeans, I’m supposed to make the final. Why should I celebrate? I’m supposed to medal, I’m supposed to win.
RM Block
“Those are things that I expect. Not that my standards have changed, my perspective has changed. So I’m enjoying the moments that I used to dream about when I was a young girl, being at Europeans, making a European final, winning my semi-final.”
It made for an exciting hour for the Irish supporters, as going on simultaneously in the field, Nicola Tuthill, at 22, was the youngest by one month in the 12-woman final in the hammer. Like Adeleke, she surpassed expectations too, claiming fifth place with her fourth-round throw of 70.33m.
On a humid evening, conditions exactly to Adeleke’s liking, everything about her performance was spot on. That was evident from the moment the 23-year-old Dublin athlete sat back in her blocks, with a look of focus and intent not seen in two years.
Across the three semi-finals, Adeleke ended up second fastest of the now eighth finalists, only surpassed by the 22.38 clocked by Britain’s Amy Hunt. Fabienne Hoenke from Switzerland is next best, second in Adeleke’s heat in 22.46. Adeleke’s display, coming against a backdrop of injury and disappointing runs, caught all the attention.
“It was loads of fun. I think when things aren’t going well, you completely forget who you are. Forgot the things that I could do, and I think I let the internal pressure consume me. I just said I’m taking things back to basics. So that’s really been my mindset the last couple of weeks.”
Only the top two in each semi-final, plus the two fastest times, progressed to the final, set for 9.50pm on Thursday night. Assuming this race will bring her further on after a troubled season to date, suddenly anything less than a podium place would be a disappointment.
Twice European champion Dina Asher-Smith won the first semi-final in 22.49. Hunt, Monday night’s 100m champion, dominated the second race, winning in 22.38, with Lauren Roy also producing a fine race to nail fourth in 23.16.
Buoyed by that loud Irish support in the stadium, Adeleke always felt this performance was coming too: “When I was setting up my blocks, just hearing all the cheers for me, I thought, these people know who you are because of the amazing things you’ve done in the past ... You’re still that person. You’ve got the same legs. You’ve got the same arms, so you can still do those things.
“The 200m is always fun. it’s less tactical. It’s less to think about than the 400m, and I’m really grateful that I’m someone who has that range and I can compete on a global level and European level in different events.”
She also praised the support of Martina McCarthy and Ciara McCallion at the Sport Ireland Institute: “I’ve been in a good mindset. I’ve been with Martina and Ciara, they’ve been able to ground me in ways that I really haven’t been able to do myself. So I owe them so much. We’ve done so much work, and I’m just really happy that I’ve been able to come out here and show the form that I knew I could be in.
“We’ve made monumental changes, and we fixed in the short period things that I knew that was weak in and things I really couldn’t do, while I was injured.”
Asked then about her thoughts for Thursday night’s final, she said: “We’ll see, I’m trying to have fun.”
But there’s more to come? “We’ll find out tomorrow. No pressure, guys. We’re going to enjoy it.”
Tuthill, meanwhile, had put down a promising mark with her first effort of 70.30m, which left her in fourth spot at that stage. The gold medal went to Silja Kosonen from Finland with her best throw of 76.28m, but Tuthill continues to make remarkable progress with each passing championship.
“Obviously, fifth in Europe is insane,” Tuthill said. “I think I was ranked about 10th coming in, so to be able to finish fifth is really, really special. But then, I’m always looking for more, 72m was third, and I think probably everyone in that field was thinking the exact same thing. But, yeah, I’m delighted.
“Two years ago, I was ninth, and this time I was fifth. So moving in the right direction, and every year you’re gathering that experience. So yeah, it’s really positive.”
