Rhasidat Adeleke came up one, agonising place shy of stepping onto global podium

How could it be?

Adeleke is not yet old enough to buy a drink in Texas, where she’s been based since the start of 2021, and yet here she was, six days shy of her 21st birthday, putting the fear of God into the world’s best as they turned for home in the 400m final.

Think of who you were at 20, and imagine being on that line, in a packed stadium, amid such tense anticipation, knowing that back home in Tallaght, in Dublin, across Ireland, so many were feeling just what she was feeling – hoping, wishing, that maybe an Irish track athlete could win a World Championship medal for the first time in 28 years.

No flat sprinter has ever won a medal for Ireland at global level. Ever. As she settled into her blocks, Adeleke was trying to beat the odds, trying to outrace the world’s best professionals, who didn’t have the long, exhausting NCAA season she had. Still, she was willing to either get on that podium or die trying.

In her semi-final, she coasted to 200m with all the get-up-and-go of a slacking college student, but this time was different, Adeleke clocking 23.54 to blast herself into contention, to give herself a chance.

“I did feel a little out of my comfort zone, I prefer to be a bit more comfortable the first 200m,” she said. “But I did what I was told, and I’d be kicking myself if I did the opposite and finished even worse.”

No regrets. It’s the approach Mageean took on Tuesday night and Adeleke, 11 years her junior, followed suit. She attacked on the final bend, moving from sixth to join Sada Williams and Natalia Kaczmarek, her chief rivals in the battle for silver and bronze behind the brilliant Dominican, Marileidy Paulino, who won gold in 48.76.

Adeleke was right there with them with 80 metres to go but then, finally, the tank ran dry. “I felt it in the end,” she said, having faded to fourth in 50.13, with Kaczmarek taking silver in 49.57 and Williams bronze with 49.60.

“But at the end of the day I tried my best. That’s all I can do.” If there is one thing that will gnaw away at Adeleke in the days ahead – and being the competitor she is, holding herself to such ruthlessly high standards, it will – it’s the fact that a reproduction of her 49.20 from the NCAA Championships would have won silver.

But Adeleke had not had a smooth run since mid-June, below her best on her professional debut last month while struggling with spasms and muscle tightness. At this nauseating level, a one-percent drop-off is all it takes.

“I just had issues and that's what happens when it's a long season, it's just general fatigue, and my body was just kind of breaking down a bit. But I was just able thankfully to get back into decent shape to be able to compete.”

Adeleke got the loudest roar of all when introduced to the crowd, with thousands of Irish fans making the trip. “It was amazing hearing my name, it felt like I was back home, or when I was in Austin with people cheering my name,” she said.

So, what now? The Paris Olympics are 11 months away and maybe, when the disappointment subsides, when the dust settles and her body is no longer tired, her muscles no longer longing for an end-of-season break, Adeleke will reflect and realise that finishing fourth might not have been such a bad thing at all, tempering as it will the hype and expectation she will carry on the road there.

“It has been a long season, running since the start of January, so to come fourth, honestly, it’s a really good result,” she said.

“It’s extra motivation for next year, getting so close. It's just cool to be able to be considered one of the top athletes in the world.”