Rhasidat Adeleke aiming to turn back the clock in European Championships 200m semi-final

After a troubled start to the season that saw her twice sidelined with injury, followed by qualifying for Birmingham at the last chance, Rhasidat Adeleke can see clearly now. A 200m semi-final beckons at the European Championships, the result of which could help swing her fortunes further back around. Whatever about the rights or wrongs of the top-12 seeded athletes getting a bye into the semi-finals, Adeleke will see this as a free shot at making the final. She’s the last of those dozen athletes not required to run the heats and if she can come close to her Irish record of 22.34 seconds in the semi-final (Wednesday, 8.20pm), then the medal showdown on Thursday night looks possible. Indeed, her 22.34 seconds, clocked in 2023, would have won her the gold medal in Rome two years ago – an indication of her talent over the shorter sprint distance – before moving up to the 400m properly that same season. By her own admission, the two hamstring injuries sustained this summer, which kept her out of training for four weeks at a time, took a major toll on her 400m preparations. They left her unable to qualify in the event she won the silver medal in two years ago.But the 200m is more about raw speed, something Adeleke has never been short of. This event runs deepest in her DNA, with the Tallaght sprinter reminding everyone about that when winning the 200m at the National Championships in Santry just over a fortnight ago. She ran 22.80 into a stiff headwind that day, producing her best race in the last two years. With arms and legs pumping right through to the finish line, Adeleke promptly raised her arms in delight when realising she’d run inside the required 22.85, then slowed up with a smile across her face.READ MORE“For me, being able to build my training, and to compound it, is really important,” she said afterwards. “And because I’ve had so many disruptions, I just wasn’t able to compound my training. Now it’s just about building and having racing under my legs. That’s kind of what I’ve been missing this year, because I wasn’t able to race.”Rhasidat Adeleke on her way to winning the senior women's 200m final at the National Senior Track and Field Championships at Morton Stadium in July. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho That lack of racing is still a concern. Especially given what’s at stake in her semi-final. Only the top two in each of the three races, plus the two fastest times, will progress to the final. It means she’ll have little room for error, if any at all.The quality of opposition also runs deep. The British trio of Amy Hunt (22.08), two-time European champion Dina Asher-Smith (22.14) and Success Eduan (22.43) hold the three fastest times this season. Hunt has proven her form too when winning the 100m on Monday night.[ ‘It’s not the end, far from it’: Sarah Lavin going back to the drawing board after turbulent European lead-upOpens in new window ]Defending champion Mujinga Kambundji of Switzerland qualified via the wildcard. She is still working her way back to top form after giving birth last year, running a best of 23.37 this season. Swiss teammate Fabienne Hoenke has also impressed this season, running 22.50.The question now is whether Adeleke can maintain any sort of upward trajectory since winning in Santry. It’s her first time running the 200m at a senior championship, but it’s also the event where she first made her name on the international stage, winning gold at the European Under-18 Championships in Gyor, Hungary, in 2018. “Now I’m just taking everything a day at a time, trying to relax and enjoy my experience,” she said of her Birmingham aspirations. “I want to put having fun at the forefront and pinnacle of why I do this. That’s why I do this. I do the work, I put my all into this, every single day. And the competition is supposed to be the fun part.”Lauren Roy just missed out on getting a bye. She is ranked 13th this season with her best of 22.83, so she’ll have to get through Wednesday morning’s heats if she is to join Adeleke.