“What an unforgettable night, such a spectacular show.” Ian O’Riordan couldn’t think of many nights in the history of Irish athletics that better Thursday in Birmingham, as he watched Mark English and Rhasidat Adeleke take medals on the track at the European Athletics Championships.
English struck gold in the 800m, bursting past Croatia’s Marino Bloudek in the final stretch to become the first Irish man to win a European outdoor title. The 33-year-old from Donegal said it was “a bloody amazing feeling”, adding: “I dreamt of that moment before, it’s totally different when you experience it.”
Less than 30 minutes later, it was the turn of Adeleke, who only qualified for the event with victory at the national championships in Santry three weeks ago after moving down from the 400m. But the 23-year-old showed her class to win her semi-final, giving herself a shot at a medal in the final. She delivered in spades, finishing strongest to grab silver on the line.
Irish eyes turn to Kate O’Connor in the heptathlon, with four events taking place on Friday. She got her push for a medal under way with a personal best time in the 100m hurdles this morning.
READ MORE
At the European Aquatics Championships in Paris, Mona McSharry and Ellie McCartney will be in action in the 200m breaststroke final at 5.30pm this evening, when Olympic medallist McSharry will fancy her chances of snatching another medal at these championships. You can check when all the Irish athletes are in action at both European Championships in our guide here.
Rovers suffer meltdown in Albania
It was definitely a night for forget for Shamrock Rovers. The League of Ireland champions are out of the Europa League after a remarkable first-half meltdown against Egnatia, shipping four quick-fire goals that saw their aggregate lead evaporate in the blink of an eye. They’ll have a chance to redeem themselves in a Conference League playoff against Finnish side KuPS next week. Paul O’Hehir reports from Albania.
Bohemians put up a decent effort against FC Midtjylland in Denmark but are out of the Europa Conference League after falling to a 5-2 defeat on aggregate. This morning, they launched a new jersey in collaboration with Massive Attack. Spare them your Unfinished Sympathy.
Shelbourne are also out, but secured an impressive 2-2 draw against Ajax at Tolka Park, Sean Moore scoring a lovely goal to equalise late on.
Rangers were also knocked out of the Europa League by Jagiellonia Bialystok at Ibrox.
Elsewhere, Rory McIlroy suffered a horror finish to his first round at the St Jude Championship in Memphis. Shane Lowry had a better day, carding a one-under 69 to leave him six off the lead.
Gavin Cooney has been watching the Netflix documentary on José Mourinho. With three hour-long episodes, it may not quite be long enough, he writes. Watching footage of his success at Chelsea and Inter transports him back to the era in which “Mourinho felt impossibly glamorous and fresh”.
Finally, the Championship gets under way tonight, with Wolves at home to Blackburn. Gavin Cummiskey picks 10 Irish players to watch in the English second tier this season.
TV Watch: You can follow Kate O’Connor’s efforts in the heptathlon on RTÉ, TNT Sports 3, BBC or on The Irish Times website throughout the day.
The swimming European Championships continue (RTÉ2, 8.25am-10.30am, 5.15pm-7.30pm) while Wolves v Blackburn is on Sky Sports Football at 8pm. Lowry and McIlroy are in action in Memphis this evening (Sky Sports Golf, 5pm-11pm).
