Athletics
Rhasidat Adeleke has succeeded in progressing to the final of the women’s 400m at the Stade de France, marking her as the first Irish female sprinter making it to the final of the Olympics. Adeleke clocked a time of 49.95 seconds, securing the second position behind Salwa Eid Naser from Bahrain, who performed a season’s best at 49.08 seconds, in the initial leg of three semi-finals conducted tonight.
In a thrilling morning session, both Sarah Lavin and Mark English astounded by qualifying for the semi-final. Lavin earned her spot in the semi-finals, scheduled for Friday morning, by coming second in the women’s 100m hurdles within 12.73 seconds. English, with his vast experience, perfectly executed his race and secured second place in his 800m men’s race. Hailing from Finn Valley AC in Donegal, he stayed ahead of the pack in the last 50 meters, finishing the race alongside France’s Gabriel Tual in 1:45.15.
The women’s 1500m repechage round was a letdown for both Sophie O’Sullivan and Sarah Healy. Following their fourth-place finish, they were a position short of qualifying for the semi-finals. Brian Fay did not qualify either for the 5000m men’s final after finishing 13th in his heat with a time of 13:55.35.
Taekwondo
Jack Woolley of Ireland had a well-deserved second opportunity when Gashim Magomedov from Azerbaijan, who had denied his expected (10th) position and beat him 2-0 in the initial round, reached the final of the -58kg category.
In a prelude to a potential bronze medal round, Irish martial artist Woolley faced off against Spain’s number two seed, Adrian Vincente Yunta, after progressing through the Azeri repechage system. Though the 25-year-old star from Tallaght, ranked seventh, fought valiantly, he was defeated 2-0 (9-10, 2-2).
In the realm of women’s golf, Olympics veterans Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow, competing in their third Olympics, had a rough start at Le Golf National on Wednesday. Both players scored six-over-par opening rounds of 78. Meadows, hailing from County Antrim, struggled with five bogeys on the front nine and had two more on the back nine, but managed to finish strong with a final-hole birdie.
Leona Maguire had a difficult beginning as she incurred a double bogey on the first hole. Followed by two more on the seventh and eighth holes, an eight on the par-five ninth came as a heavy blow. Yet despite a number of additional bogeys, Maguire fought back and secured three birdies on the back nine, consequently ending the day with a score of 78.
French local champion Celine Boutier leads on an under-seven, closely followed by South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai, who trails by three shots and Mexico’s Gaby Lopez two shots further behind. Irish athletes Maguire and Meadow will continue their competition, resuming their play on Thursday at 9:22am and 9:55am Irish time respectively.
In the sailing category, the men’s dinghy medal race featuring Finn Lynch was delayed again on Wednesday morning due to light winds in Marseille. After a couple hours’ delay, the event eventually started with Ireland’s Lynch leading the pack of ten boats. However, less than optimal wind conditions forced a halt to the race before reaching the third mark. A later deciding round saw Lynch, a two-time Olympian, placing eighth but maintaining his tenth place standing among the 43 competing nations.