Rarely has Rashidat Adeleke qualified for an Olympics so smoothly or so impressively by flying straight from Nassau to Paris, but at the World Athletics Relay in the Bahamas, Rashidat Adeleke did it once or twice. He led the Irish team through the ranks.
893 of the world's best sprinters from 54 countries converge on Nassau, with qualifying for Paris a top priority, with both the Irish women's 4x400m relay and mixed 4x400m relay set as targets. , and delivered arguably two of the relay's best performances. It will go down in Irish athletics history.
Both won their heats on Saturday night, breaking Irish records in the process. Whatever happens in Sunday night's final will be a bonus, with the realistic prospect of a podium and prize money further underscoring Adeleke's status as one of the most exciting one-lap runners in the world.
Only the top two finishers in Saturday's heats automatically qualify for Paris (the rest will compete again for the remaining competition in Sunday's repechage), and Adeleke's smooth ride contributed to these wins. It turned out to be extremely important.
The 21-year-old Dublin sprinter ran the second leg of both events just 90 minutes apart, recording two of the fastest 400m splits of the night, followed by Charlene Moseley's superb anchoring in both events. He ran the leg and clinched the victory. With her Irish victory, her confidence soared.
“If anything, I woke up early this morning and felt a little sleepy,” Adeleke said of his efforts. “But knowing that we all have a chance to go to the Olympics gives us enough energy to go there and do our best.”
First to compete was the mixed 4x400m team consisting of Shirin Green, Adeleke, Thomas Barr and Moseley, who set a national record with a time of 3 minutes 12.50 seconds, beating second place Belgium. We won by a big margin. Great Britain finished third in 3:13.18 with a time of 3:13.52. Their time was the third fastest overall across all heats.
Green's split was 46.99, Adeleke's run was 49.54, Barr's was 45.74 and Moseley's was 50.13. Adeleke's run was even more impressive as after passing six runners on her legs, she had to run into the fifth lane to hand over to Barr, who mistakenly went to the outside instead of the inside lane. It would have been Adeleke's mission, as they were all lined up. It's much easier.
“It was very frustrating,” said Barr, who was also aiming for a third Olympic appearance in the 400m hurdles. He was passing the 200 meters in third place, so he should have been third in the lineup to receive the baton. He had to wave. [Rhasidat] To get her out.
“But we knew deep down that we had everything we needed to qualify and get through and win this race, but sometimes it's just about doing it. Get the job done. I feel like I did exactly what I needed to do.
“This is our first race as a team this year. Looking to the future, we look to be even faster, and it's really promising to see the team come together and do so well this early in the season.”
Although conditions were ideal, it was still a big challenge for Adeleke and Moseley to return after 90 minutes to help the women's 4x400m. It didn't seem like it, as they beat the previous national record by more than 1.5 seconds, setting a new record for the fastest time in all heats with a time of 3 minutes 24.38 seconds, beating second-placed Great Britain for another win. 3:24.89, Cuba fell far back to third place with 3:31.56.
Sophie Becker and Phil Healy certainly played their part, but Adeleke's second leg run to Paris in the individual 400m once again proved her world-class qualities.
Moseley ran a second sub-51 split in 50.98 seconds, while Adeleke ran another sub-50 in a sensational 49.48 seconds. Becker opened with a score of 52.62 without the benefit of a running start, while Healy posted a score of 51.30.
“I couldn't have asked for anything more. Two wins, two national records…what a dream night. Words can't express how much this means to all of us. Today's Checklist I checked all the boxes,” added Moseley, who said the 25-year-old Tipperary athlete is also on track to qualify for Paris in the individual 400m.
There was extra motivation for Moseley, who helped Ireland reach both relay finals at the World Championships in Budapest last August. She was part of the mixed relay quartet that qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, but like Adeleke, she was not selected for the team.
Jack Raftery and Christopher O'Donnell completed the men's team. Roisin Harrison, Lauren Cadden and Rachel McCann are also named in the women's squad, and the next challenge is to carry this form into the European Athletics Championships in Rome in June.
And Paris beckons.
Day 2 – World Athletics Relay: Ireland schedule. Mixed 4x400m Relay Final – Monday morning, 02:40. Women’s 4x400m Relay Final – Monday morning, 03:10