Rhadisat Adeleke opens up on heartbreak of Olympic 400m finish
"I'm like, 'can someone just give me the medal?'" said the Dubliner, who will participate in the 4x400m final on Saturday
Rhasidat Adeleke suffered the agony of finishing fourth in her first Olympic final - but confirmed she will take a shot at redemption in the 4x400m relay final on Saturday night.
Adeleke was beaten to the bronze in last year's World Championships by Natalia Kaczmarek - and it was the same story at the Stade de France last night.
With the Dominican Republic's Marileidy Paulino racing away for gold and Bahrain's Salwa Eid Naser on course for the silver, the 21-year-old Dubliner had put herself into position to win Ireland's first Olympic track medal in 24 years.
READ MORE: What time is the women's 4x400 relay final on at in Paris?
READ MORE: Ireland Women's 4x400m relay team celebrate Olympic final qualification
But Poland's Kaczmarek stormed through in the final 80m to take third place by three hundredths of a second - after she also pipped Adeleke for gold in the European Championships in June.
"Coming into the home straight I was somewhere in contention, but maybe I panicked a little bit, started to strain," recalled Adeleke, whose 49.28 finishing time was the third fastest of her career. "It's just a whole blur, I literally can't even remember what happened but all I know is I didn't get podium.
"I was just staring at the screen for a minute, 'oh my God, no way I came fourth again'. I'm like, 'can someone just give me the medal?'."
Adeleke revealed that low blood sugar had affected her semi-final on Wednesday, when she struggled to finish in the automatic places. However the Tallaght star wasn't using that as an excuse for her final effort.
"I was pretty low in everything, my blood sugar was low, everything was low and I felt very dizzy, I was shaking, I just never felt like that before or after a race and I was very worried," she said. "But everyone got me back on track, the doctors, the physios, and they made sure they prepared me well. I just want to give a shout out to them.
"I’m sure there was something I could do differently, I’ll see what my coach has to say. It’s over now, and I’ve just got to look forward now."
Ireland's first ever female Olympic track finalist was the second youngest to qualify - and perhaps that inexperience cost her. "Maybe it comes down to being more patient, not kicking as early, so it comes down to more experience," she said.
"There's so much more to come in the 400, so much more experience, many more races to learn form before I can actually call my race the best."
Her attitude to the week on the track will surely change if the relay team makes the podium. The quartet of Sophie Becker, Phil Healy, Kelly McGrory and Sharlene Mawdsley qualified for Saturday night's final in third place in their heat.
The addition of Adeleke will add serious ammunition to the European silver medallists' hopes of making history. "Yeah, absolutely," she said, when asked if she would compete. "I think it’s another opportunity."
But when asked if there are positives she can take from the race and her time in Paris, Adeleke replied: "No, that’s not possible at the moment. "Some people come here to participate and just happen to be at the Olympics, their goal is to become an Olympian.
"I knew what I was capable of. I was definitely looking at a podium, I definitely wouldn’t be happy coming fourth and my coach knows I could’ve got on that podium. It just wasn’t meant to be today but I think I still have so much more to give.
"I didn’t achieve my dreams today but in the future I just hope that there are more podiums up there and I’ll be able to perform at my best when it’s most important.
"It’s my first Olympics. I’m hungrier than ever."
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