THE time for talking is over. For months, years even, Rhasidat Adeleke has carried the country’s hopes on her shoulders. Still only 21, the level of expectation barely seems fair.
But Ireland is not known for producing sprinters, let alone those possessing genuine world-class ability. Adeleke is a rare diamond.
Daughter to Nigerian parents, but Tallaght born and bred, her story – allied with a likeable, easy-going personality – saw Adeleke earmarked for the big-time long before Paris 2024 was even a dot on the horizon.
Now, though, the eyes of the world are watching as, at the Stade de France on Friday night, she becomes the first-ever Irish woman to run in an Olympic final.
But the mood of cautious optimism has been tempered since Wednesday’s 400m semi-final when Adeleke finished a distant second behind Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser in what looked a comparatively straight-forward heat.
What was more concerning, however, was what unfolded afterwards.
Speaking to RTE, she admitted it had been “a very messy race”, having only just held off the advances of Norwegian Henriette Jaeger arriving on her left shoulder.
Concerns swept around the media mixed zone when journalists were informed that Adeleke wouldn’t be coming through as she was receiving medical attention.
She was suffering from fatigue, Team Ireland officials said, but would be fine for Friday.
Adeleke knew she had been nowhere near her best in the semi-final, promising to remedy what had gone wrong.
“I’m just excited that I’m able to get into the final and fix everything for when I do get into the final…”
But is two days really enough if fitness, and confidence as a consequence, are in question?
Or perhaps we should be more positive in outlook. Adeleke did what she needed to do, she got there. Sometimes that’s all that matters.
It is a huge ask to get the upper hand on Naser, Tokyo silver medallist Marileidy Paulino and Poland’s reigning European champion Natalia Kaczmarek, with that trio the only members of tonight’s field to have dipped below 49 seconds.
But, with a second-place finish leaving her in danger of starting off in a poor lane, Adeleke landed on her feet when the draw was made.
She goes in lane four, with Paulino in six, Kaczmarek – who pipped Adeleke to gold in Rome in June – in seven and 2019 world champion Naser in eight.
The danger doesn’t end there either. Team GB’s Amber Anning, who finished fourth fastest qualifier for the final, is outside Adeleke in lane five, with Sada Williams of Barbados in lane one.
Every one of those competitors will be wary of Adeleke, irrespective of how Wednesday’s semi finished out. Ireland hopes she was simply saving the best for last.
