At just 21, Rhasidat Adeleke’s discontent with her medal colour in the 400m final on Monday illustrates her high-reaching ambition. As Ian O’Riordan reports, she nearly crafted an impressive one-lap performance, which might have secured her a second gold for Ireland in four days. Even after setting a new personal and national record of 49.20, she narrowly lost to Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek in a thrilling race. This achievement marked Adeleke’s debut senior individual medal, and according to Ian, it’s unlikely to be her last. Similarly, Andrew Coscoran is aspiring for a medal after making it to the 1,500m final, whereas a mere .04 of a second eliminated Thomas Barr from a spot in the 400m hurdles final.
While there won’t be any awards handed out in Aveiro tonight, an open-top bus parade in Dublin might be on the cards for the Republic of Ireland if they can avoid a loss against Portugal. Gavin Cummiskey anticipates the friendly match which could be Cristiano Ronaldo’s last home international, a journey of 206 caps and 128 goals.
In the Gaelic sports realm, according to Michael Murphy, the troubling increase in high-profile injuries is a mystery, given the players’ unwavering diligence and support. He delves into potential reasons and solutions. Simultaneously, Gordon Manning investigates Dublin hurling’s most recent unsuccessful revival due to a significant loss to Kilkenny in the Leinster final. Seán Moran provides updates on the Football Review Committee’s future trial matches that will introduce tweaked rules to address feedback from the public.
Owen Doyle expresses a desire for rugby to evolve to mitigate dangerous play in the face of prevalent concussion and dementia issues. He also criticizes the current season’s URC referees, stating that they haven’t matched the evolving demands of the sport’s challenges.
Ahead of his debut at the US Open, this week, golf correspondent Philip Reid held a discussion with Tom McKibbin. Meanwhile, the Irish Derby has been given a boost with the participation of Ambiente Friendly, the Epsom Derby second-place winner. This significant development comes immediately after the unexpected announcement that City Of Troy, the Epsom Derby champion, won’t be competing, with his management team deciding that he will race in the upcoming Sandown’s Eclipse instead.
In the world of television, the European Athletics Championships carried on into the morning, broadcasted live on RTÉ 2 (from 9 am till 12:05 pm). Later this evening, John O’Shea’s Republic of Ireland team will compete against Portugal in a friendly game taking place in Aveiro. The match will be simulcast on RTÉ 2 and Premier Sports 1 starting at 7:45 pm.