Irish heroes mixing talent with ambition

Few things get the juices flowing for the sporting public than Irish success in athletics. Thinking back, those of us of a certain vintage can remember the television being rolled into the classroom in 2000 when Sonia O’Sullivan went for gold in Sydney in a thrilling women’s 5000 metres final.

She eventually finished second to claim silver, but that memory of her racing for the line with Gabriel Szabo of Romania is burned into many a brain across the country.

It’s moments like those that make a big impression on youngsters in particular, and this past week we had a couple of them with Irish athletes performing so well at the European Championships in Rome.

A haul of four medals was a record for the country – exceeding the three won in 1998 when the aforementioned O’Sullivan won gold in both the 5000 and 10000 metre events – and the general outpouring of goodwill towards the Irish athletes has been incredible.

You know it’s been a good week when the politicians start to get involved, so it was fitting that the Irish standard bearers were afforded time with the Taoiseach last Friday morning at Government Buildings.

Rhasidat Adeleke, long touted as a rising star, produced a series of stellar performances in the mixed 4x400m relay, the individual 400 metres and with the women’s 4x400m relay team while Sharlene Mawdsley’s exploits, in the same events, were also highly impressive.

Locally, it was fantastic to see West Sligo’s Lauren Cadden make an enormous contribution for the relay team in their semi-final, running a superb third leg before handing over to Mawdsley for the final tilt.

The mixed relay has been a really positive development for Irish athletics and they’ve made real progress in the event in quite a short space of time. Just look at this year.

In the Bahamas, at the World Athletics Championships in early May, Ireland set a new Irish record in securing a brilliant bronze on the world stage, finishing behind only the United States and the Netherlands. The Irish team on that occasion included Adeleke, Thomas Barr, Cillín Greene and Mawdsley.

Fast forward little over a month and again, Ireland produced the goods in this event at European level. Again, it was a national record with Grange’s Chris O’Donnell taking the place of Greene this time around. In 90 years of the Championships, O’Sullivan’s successes were the only times gold went the way of the Emerald Isle, so a breakthrough on that front is a rare feat.

It has been a productive period for Irish athletics and it’s all the more exciting with the Olympics on the cards later this year in Paris. Of course, the opposition at Olympic level will be all the stronger but Ireland, in several events, have reason to look forward with real optimism towards matters in the French capital.

The Irish public has reason to be extremely proud of our representatives in these events, even without considering their success in terms of medals. It’s not always the case with our successful sportspeople or teams, but they have chimed with the public in a way that has generated an enormous amount of goodwill.

In athletics, the margins are extremely tight and the difference between success and failure is often minuscule. One of the reasons the Irish athletes have become so popular is the fact that several of them have bounced back from real adversity in their careers to achieve on the biggest stage.

Mawdsley is in the form of her life but it’s only three months ago she was in the depths of frustration and despair having been disqualified at the World Indoor Championships for an apparent breach in the semi-final. It cost her a place in the final.

Ciara Mageean has been toiling for a long time at the top level and eventually broke through for a gold medal in the 1500m this time around. The Portaferry native is one of the country’s most popular sportspeople for a reason – she’s authentic, honest and a fierce competitor. The way in which she spoke so movingly in the aftermath of the sudden passing of her coach, Jerry Kiernan, in 2021 resonated with a long of people who have experienced loss in their lives.

Sarah Lavin was left massively disappointed by her performance in the 100m hurdles final in Rome, having clipped a hurdle along the way, to finish seventh. Yet she has shown remarkable resilience to perform at the top level after the death her partner, rally driver Craig Breen, in heartbreaking circumstances in an accident in the spring of last year. The way in which she has spoken about that period in her life has inspired many.

Irish Athletics also deserves credit.

The much-discussed underinvestment in Irish football over a long number of years is contrasted by the sound and solid financial efforts of their athletics counterparts, who have steadily improved facilities in the country to help increase the chances of success for their athletes. Ian O’Riordan pointed out in his Irish Times piece over the weekend that the improved focus on coaching, facilities and funding over the last couple of decades is starting to bear fruit. Simple, isn’t it!

What’s so exciting about this current crop of Irish athletes is their combination of talent with serious ambition. Just consider the apparent reaction from Rhasidat Adeleke – still only 21, remember – having finished second in the women’s 400 metres final last week. Her coach, the US-based Edrick Floreal, told the Irish Independent that she was crying over the phone at having come up narrowly short.

“I wasn’t happy. She wasn’t happy,” he said.

That may seem harsh – but that’s the level of ambition Irish athletes are now showing.

Long may that continue.