LAST UPDATE | 20 Jul

IRELAND’S RHASIDAT ADELEKE finished fifth in the 200m at Saturday’s Diamond League in London. 

The Tallaght athlete ran in lane eight, crossing the line in 22.35, just shy of her personal best of 22.34, taking fifth place.

A huge run from Rhasidat Adeleke sees her post a 22.35 SB (5th) in a stacked 200m at Diamond League in London 🔥🔥🔥

Just one hundredth of a second off her 22.34 NR 🤩#irishathletics #LondonDL pic.twitter.com/AU8hNPpUdF

— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) July 20, 2024

American Gabrielle Thomas won in a time of 21.82 in the final warm-up for the Paris Olympics. 

Julien Alfred of St Lucia was second (21.86) with Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith in third (22.07).

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗔 𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘! 🤯

Gabrielle Thomas (21.82) takes the 200m in London ahead of Julien Alfred (21.86). ⚡️

Rhasidat Adeleke ran a SB of 22.35 in fifth. 🇮🇪#LondonDL | @irishathletics pic.twitter.com/E41Z9bCDYb

— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) July 20, 2024

Earlier, Andrew Coscoran put in a sterling effort to smash his personal best and finish eighth in the mile event. 

A 3:50.49 PB for @AndrewCoscoran over a Mile at the London Diamond League! 🇮🇪#LondonDL | @irishathletics pic.twitter.com/73kPkaSJcm

— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) July 20, 2024

The Star of the Sea man came home in 3:50.49. The 28-year-old’s previous best time was 3:55.31. The race was won by Australian Oliver Hoare in 3:49.03. In Paris, Coscoran is seeking to better his 10th-placed finish in the 1500m semi-finals in Tokyo.

Brian Fay finished seventh in the 3,000m, taking more than two seconds off his personal best to finish in a time of 7:34.48. The Raheny Shamrocks man’s previous best was 7:36.89, and the 25-year-old’s season best was 7:40.09. He is the third fastest Irishman ever over this distance.

Two more Irish PBs in London in the 3000m! 🇮🇪

Brian Fay finished in 7th with a 7:34.48 while Nick Griggs takes over 5s off his previous best and the Irish U23 record with a 7:36.59! 👏#LondonDL | @irishathletics pic.twitter.com/rL8SjuhLNn

— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) July 20, 2024

Tyrone 19-year-old Nicolas Griggs also broke his personal best, finishing 10th in a time of 7:36.59 with 7:41.68 his previous best. Griggs is now the fourth fastest Irishman over the distance and has broken his own U23 record. 

Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu of Switzerland won the race in 7:33.68, with American Grant Fisher second. 

World champion Femke Bol set a new meet record as she cruised to victory in the women’s 400m hurdles. She clocked 51.30 seconds to beat by 0.15sec the previous best she’d set at the London Stadium last year.

“I truly love to run here in this stadium, it is so special, and to put on this great field it is fantastic,” said Bol, who finished third in the Covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics when world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone took gold.

“I am super happy with my performance today. I am working on my opening and getting to that first hurdle.”

Bol became just the second woman to break the 51-second barrier in the gruelling event last weekend.

The Dutch athlete ran 50.95sec in Switzerland on Sunday to smash her own European record of 51.45.

Noah Lyles set himself up perfectly for the Olympics by haring to a personal best in winning the 100m. In the last sprint before Paris, Lyles was quick out of his blocks and tore down the track at London Stadium to win in 9.81 seconds.

Written by Ronan Geary and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.