As expected everything about the London Diamond League played out as a final dress rehearsal before the Paris Olympics, and Rhasidat Adeleke made another statement of her intent, running the second fastest time of her life when moving down to the 200 metres.
In her last race before targeting the 400m in Paris, Adeleke faced off against the best 200m women in the world inside the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon, and running out in lane eight, finished fifth in 22.35 seconds – just .01 off her Irish record of 22.34 set in Florida last summer.
Also running into a slight headwind (-0.9m/s), the Dublin sprinter came into the straight right in the mix, before Gabby Thomas from the US, who won silver at last year’s World Championships, powered through in lane six to win on the line, clocking a meeting record of 21.82 seconds.
Then came two of Adeleke’s training partners, also in the middle lanes, Julien Alfred from St Lucia improving her best to 21.86 to hold on for second, with Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, the 2019 World Champion, finishing third in 22.07, also a season best.
Just over a week after winning the 400m at the Monaco Diamond League, her 49.17 seconds there also the second fastest of her life, Adeleke improved on her 200m season best of 22.45, and is clearly rounding into peak form ahead of Paris.
As indeed are all the main medal contenders for Paris, several of whom also made similar statements of intent inside the London Stadium, the venue for 2012 Olympics.
Andrew Coscoran and Brian Fay also signed off for Paris with hugely rewarding runs, Coscoran running the fastest mile by an Irish athlete in 24 years when improving his best to 3:50.49, having previously run 3:53.64 indoors.
While the London victory went to Olli Hoare from Australia in 3:49.03, Coscoran finished fast to nail eighth spot, his 3:50.49 now third on the Irish all-time list, second only to Ray Flynn’s Irish record of 3:49.77 from 1982, and Eamonn Coghlan’s 3:49.78 set indoors in 1983.
Earlier, Fay also showed a great turn of speed over the last 200m to nail seventh in the 3,000m in 7:34.48, improving by almost two seconds his previous best of 7:36.89 set two years ago,
Then came Nick Griggs not far behind in 10th, his 7:36.59 taking over five seconds off his best of 7:41.68 clocked earlier this month at the Cork City Sports, the still only 19-year-old from Tyrone again improving the Irish Under-23 record, and moving him from 10th to fourth on the Irish all-time list, just behind Fay who remains in third.
Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu, Sudan-born runner now representing Switzerland, and former member of the Athlete Refugee Team, won in a national and meeting record of 7:27.68.
Adeleke also got a timely reminder of the sort of quality she will face in Paris when Nickisha Pryce from Jamaica ran the fastest 400m in the world this year, improving her best to 48.57 seconds, having won the NCAA title in the US last month in 48.89.
That eclipsed the previous world lead for 2024, the 48.75 that Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone from the US ran in New York in May, before confirming she’ll only contest the 400m hurdles in Paris.
At age 23, Pryce has been making great progress this season, after finished second behind Adeleke at the 2023 NCAA Championships in the US. Last year, Pryce’s best was 50.21, before she won that NCAA title in June in 48.89.
In finishing second, Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek also improved her national record to 48.90 seconds, having run 48.98 to win the gold medal at the European Championships in Rome ahead of Adeleke, with Lieke Klaver also improved her best from 49.64 to 49.58, the Dutch woman finishing third.
There was also a super-fast women’s 800m, Keely Hodgkinson improving the British record to 1:54.61, before Matthew Hudson-Smith also improved the British 400m record, running a stunning 43.74 seconds – another clear statement of his intent for Paris, the Opening Ceremony taking place next Friday, the athletics programme starting a week later.
Elsewhere, Thomas Williams won another medal for Ireland at the European Athletics Under-18 Athletics Championships in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, the still 16-year-old from Cavan winning gold in the hammer with a brilliant throw of 73.95 metres.
He becomes only the third Irish athlete ever to win gold at this level, and first male, after Rhasidat Adeleke’s 200m triumph in 2018 and Sarah Healy’s 800m-1500m double at the same event.
Later, Conor Kelly from Derry Track Club produced an Irish Under-18 record of 46.97 for the 400m to win bronze in his final, which follows the bronze medal won on Friday by Cian Crampton in the men’s discus with another Irish Under-18 record of 60.55m. Joe Burke from Templemore AC then secured a bronze medal from lane eight in the men’s 200m final, crossing in a time of 21.31 to also break the Irish Under-18 200m record.
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