
Rhasidat Adeleke finishes sixth in 400m at Stockholm Diamond League meeting
Looking well off form and notably tiring,
Rhasidat Adeleke
had to settle for sixth place in the 400 metres in the Stockholm Diamond League on Sunday evening.
In the second of a double bill of Scandinavian stops in the Diamond League, Adeleke was looking to improve on her fourth place finish in Oslo three nights ago. The 22-year-old from Tallaght faded once again in the homestretch to finish in 50.48 seconds, well down on her Irish record of 49.07 clocked this time last year.
The three women who finished ahead of her in Oslo also took the top three places here, with victory again going to US newcomer Isabella Whittaker in 49.78 seconds as the 23-year-old continues a fine first international season.
Adeleke had run 50.42 in Oslo, but couldn't improve on that here. Henriette Jaeger from Norway took second, the 21-year-old running 50.07, with Britain's Amber Anning third in 50.17.
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On another perfect evening for running inside the Olympic Stadium, Adeleke was still in contention for a top-three finish coming into the last 100m, but was passed by her old Dutch rival Lieke Klaver, who took fourth in 50.35, with Martina Weil from Chile running a national record of 50.39 to also get past Adeleke to finish fifth.
At this stage of the season, with the World Championships in Tokyo just under three months away, Adeleke is, by her own admission, not race sharp. Starting in lane four, Adeleke had the three women who beat her in Oslo finish outside her, and looked well placed at 200m, only to lose ground when it mattered.
In Oslo, Anning got past Adeleke in the last 50 metres to claim third in 50.24. She finished fifth at the Paris Olympics last summer, one place behind Adeleke in fourth. She's since won the World indoor title.
Adeleke had raced two Diamond League meetings over 200m last month, with the 400m races in Scandinavia the first true tests in her specialist event.
'Me and my coach have been working on something different so we're just trying to get going, get the season going,' she said after Oslo. 'The main goal is September so we're working towards that.
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Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
This time, Galway come out the good side of stone-cold classic
All-Ireland SFC: Galway 2-22 Armagh 0-27 In the end, the margin was a point. Having lost a game by one and drawn their second, Galway secured a significant one-point triumph over an already qualified Armagh in Kingspan Breffni. This was the third stone-cold classic in a row for Pádraic Joyce's side. They were eight points down at the turnaround having had one Matthew Tierney penalty saved and another from Robert Finnerty flash over the bar. By the time Shane Walsh nailed a final free after the hooter, they were already safe. A win still meant something, a sign that they are still capable of going all the way. 'We were confident enough anyway,' said captain Seán Kelly. 'We have had two games where we drew and lost by a point. So it's not like we're a bad team overnight or anything. There was always going to be tough games. Every game we play now, it's going to be a point or two in the difference. Hopefully we can give the fans an easier result the next day for the hearts.' Despite their first defeat in the championship since the 2023 loss to Tyrone, the All-Ireland champions still emerged from Saturday night with serious credit. They raced into a 0-15 to 0-7 half-time lead thanks to four two-pointers, with Ethan Rafferty, Niall Grimley, and Darragh McMullan all finding their range from play. Rafferty was immense, saving one penalty and denying Matthew Thompson from point-blank range in the second half. He finished with seven points, including a point that stemmed from a kickout he caught himself. Paddy Burns was taken off early due to a booking picked up for the second penalty concession. They rested some key men while getting valuable minutes into others. 'We still have the likes of Ben (Crealey), Rory (Grugan), and Oisín (O'Neill) are big misses,' said McGeeney. On the other hand, Damien Comer's late withdrawal from the matchday panel was an enormous blow for their opponents. McGeeney said they had a few players who 'probably weren't just right'. 'I think the people who came on today, Grimley hasn't played much all year, just come back after a few injuries, he was very good. So was Joe McElroy, loads of running, Cian McConville was excellent for us as well so there is no complaints that way, just a few mistakes that cost us very dearly.' Galway's bench made their mark too. 2024 Footballer of the Year Paul Conroy did not start but came in to score, win a two-point free and produce the last opportunity for Walsh. Tierney came back on having been brought off early and was immense in the clutch. Cathal Sweeney hit a point with his first possession and created a goal for club-mate Finnerty. A strong start to the second half was marked with a John Maher goal but Armagh refused to yield, as is their trademark. Having fallen behind for the first time with 15 minutes left, they reeled off five consecutive scores as their deep runners surged with Tiernan Kelly, Jarly Óg Burns, and Ross McQuillan racing in. A two-week break will be well received now. They continue to grow stronger. It fell to Man of the Match Walsh to deliver his ninth score, having hit six from play, as they advance to the preliminary quarter-finals next weekend. 'It is about a full 26 panel,' said Kelly. 'Whatever five/six get on, it is about making an impact and finishing the game strong, and thankfully, that's what we did there for a positive result and we push on now. 'When we get to Monday, we will do our analysis on that game, look forward to the next opposition. We were here last year, we had that experience playing weekend in, weekend out, so we can really kind of lean on that.' Scorers for Galway: S Walsh 0-9 (1 tpf, 1f); R Finnerty 1-4 (0-1 pen); J Maher 1-0; P Cooke 0-3 (1 tp); C McDaid 0-2; C D'Arcy, M Tierney, C Sweeney, P Conroy 0-1 each. Scorers for Armagh: E Rafferty 0-7 (2 tpf, 1tp); R McQuillan, N Grimley, (1 tp), C McConville 0-3 each; D McMullan 0-2; R O'Neill, J Burns, P McGrane, S Campbell, S McPartlan, C Turbitt, A Murnin, J Duffy, T Kelly 0-1 each. GALWAY: C Flaherty; J McGrath, S Fitzgerald, J Glynn; D McHugh, S Kelly, L Silke; P Cooke, J Maher; C McDaid, R Finnerty, C D'Arcy; M Tierney, S Walsh, M Thompson. Subs: P Conroy for Tierney (33); D O'Flaherty for Silke (half-time); C Hernon for Fitzgerald (46 — Inj); C Sweeney for McHugh (54); M Tierney for Cooke (59); J Heaney for McDaid (68). ARMAGH: E Rafferty; P Burns, B McCambridge, P McGrane; R McQuillan, T Kelly, J Óg Burns; J Duffy, N Grimley; D McMullan, R O'Neill, J McElroy; C McConville, A Murnin, C Turbitt. Subs: T McCormack for McCambridge (20 – Inj); G McCabe for Burns (half-time); S Campbell for Duffy (54); C Mackin for Grimley (59); O Conaty for McMullan (63); S McPartlan for McConville (65-Inj). Referee: N Mooney (Cavan).

Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Gritty Royals put Kerry on the back foot
All-Ireland SFC: Meath 1-22 (1-4-18) Kerry 0-16 (0-1-15) A Kerry performance and a result that at any other time would demand a postmortem but there is no time for such an examination. Besides, and the next point is important, they aren't dead. Losing to a team that finished nine places below them in this year's Allianz League with their lowest points total in almost a year should hurt. Even if they began with arguably six, at a push seven first-team players, local Meath journalists rightly pointed out afterwards that their county were missing eight possible starters. That being said, only nine of the Kerry team that began last year's All-Ireland semi-final started in Tullamore. Seán O'Shea's withdrawal with a hamstring issue before the game deprived Kerry of a conduit in the half-forward line but more importantly a viable kick-out option. Necessity has meant Jack O'Connor has had to draw deeper from his resources this year but on the basis of this display there remain shortcomings in the panel. Diarmuid O'Connor's absence is bemoaned but Paudie Clifford's is lamented. Masses will be said for his safe return for the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final. Meath were ravenous, Kerry acted like their bellies were full. The greasy conditions lended to a game of breaking ball and the Munster champions were incredibly laborious in their efforts to retain the ball. 'We couldn't win our own kick-out,' lamented Jack O'Connor. 'That's the bottom line. If you don't have the ball, it doesn't matter what forwards you have. We just couldn't win the breaking ball, and it was mostly breaking ball.' But Kerry's attitude reeked too. 'It's a chastening experience,' O'Connor admitted. 'We were very flat, and lacking energy, so we have to figure out where that came from. 'Compared to the second half above in Cork, this was night and day. Meath had all the energy and the aggression, and we were passive. It's back to the drawing board. We won't be making those excuses. We were just way off it today, and Meath were deserving winners.' Robbie Brennan had no issue with Meath being written off before the game but some of the analysis or lack thereof was galling. On Today FM on Friday, the manner in which this game was dismissed as a foregone conclusion was insulting to Meath and the advances they have made this year. In fairness to Marc Ó Sé, he warned there could be a surprise in store but he was drowned out by claims he was resorting to 'yerra'. Meath sensed there was blood in the water and the performances of Ruairí Kinsella, Conor Duke and Ciarán Caulfield deserved to be winning ones. Minus the regular scoring threats of Matthew Costello and James Conlon, Kinsella and Duke each provided five points from play. 'You take James Conlon who kicked six (points) the last day and he's not in the team and people are saying, 'Where are the scores going to come from?' But they just come from other areas and a testament to the strength in the squad.' Twelve months ago, Meath may as well have rolled out the red carpet for Kerry. County officials acted like sycophants as they looked for selfies with David Clifford and management figures chatted and ambled before throw-in like old friends. Here, Meath, going with seven of the team beaten by 15 points by Kerry in Páirc Tailteann, offered no welcome to Leinster. They were gritty, aggressive and should have been further than six points ahead at half-time, 0-14 to 0-8. They kicked a couple of two-pointers in that period and Kinsella and Duke each landed another after Kerry had narrowed the gap to two points. The coup de grace came as early as the 57th minute when Bryan Menton finally beat Shane Ryan after the Kerry goalkeeper had earlier kept out Cathal Hickey and Adam O'Neill. The conspiracy theorists will make plenty of O'Connor's comment afterwards that an extra fixture next weekend is welcome. 'In many ways, we're glad to have a game next week because, if you were two weeks thinking about that performance, it wouldn't do anyone any good,' he said. 'That's the only road we have left now, so we have to travel on that one. Hopefully, we can lift it for next week, and we will have to lift it, substantially.' With some of their injury concerns alleviating, they should and Killarney should help too. As for Meath, a second two-week break will give Costello a chance of lining out in the county's first All-Ireland quarter-final in 15 years. After adding Kerry to Dublin in their list of scalps, Brennan was asked if his project is ahead of schedule. 'It probably looks that way but as the lads know we've just gone one game at a time or one training. session at a time. 'We've had no targets, we've had no 'let's get to here', 'let's get to there', so it doesn't feel like it for us because that's the way we approach it.' Scorers for Meath: E Frayne (3 frees, 1tp), C Duke (1 tp), R Kinsella (2 tps) (0-5 each); B Menton (1-0); J Morris (0-2, 1 free); K Curtis, B Hogan (45), D Keogan, S Coffey, C Caulfield (0-1 each). Scorers for Kerry: D Clifford (0-5, 1 tp, 1 free); D Geaney (0-4); K Spillane (0-3, 1 free); T Brosnan (0-2); M Burns, P Murphy (0-1 each). MEATH: B Hogan; S Lavin, S Rafferty, R Ryan; D Keogan, S Coffey, C Caulfield; B Menton, A O'Neill; C Duke, R Kinsella, C Hickey; J Morris, E Frayne (c), K Curtis. Subs for Meath: C McBride for O'Neill (h-t); E Harkin for Hickey (54); S Walsh for Frayne (59); J McEntee for Kinsella (68); D Moriarty for Rafferty (68). Black card: C Hickey (36-46). KERRY: S Ryan; J Foley, P Murphy, T O'Sullivan; T Morley, M Breen, G White (c); J O'Connor, M O'Shea; G O'Sullivan, T Brosnan, M Burns; D Clifford, K Spillane, D Geaney. Subs for Kerry: D Casey for Breen, R Murphy for Burns (both 48); S O'Brien for O'Shea, C Geaney for O'Sullivan (both 58); D Moynihan for Spillane (66). Referee: J McQuillan (Cavan).


Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Tipp braced for 'very dangerous' Galway
All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-final: Laois 0-18 Tipperary 3-32 BEWARE the lessons of history, says Liam Cahill, as Tipp march on to an All-Ireland quarter-final against Galway. Two years ago, the Premier inflicted a record haul of 7-38 on Offaly in this fixture. They could've come closer to that mark against Laois on Saturday, but for the crossbar, post, and Cathal Dunne denying them further green flags. Back in 2023, Cahill's high-flying side were brought crashing back to earth by Galway within a week. Indeed, the Blue and Gold have lost four of their last five championship meetings with the Tribesmen, plus a league final. 'Galway are a really, really dangerous opposition,' Cahill emphasised. 'Historically, with really strong Tipperary teams down the years, they've caused us great difficulty. We will not be going into this game with our eyes half-closed or not ready for what's coming. We know what's going to come from Galway. 'They will be very sore after the Leinster final. They'll feel they only hurled for 15 minutes, maybe less, and could have got something out of the game. 'So they're a very, very dangerous opposition for us.' After surviving this preliminary quarter-final 'injury-free', the next week will be centred around 'freshening up' bodies to avoid a repeat. Eoghan Connolly's absence was precautionary due to a 'soft tissue injury'. He was named among Tipp's three stand-by players in Portlaoise. Jake Morris, Noel McGrath, and Conor Stakelum were not called from the bench as they, too, got a day off. In their absence, Jason Forde bagged 2-5, Darragh McCarthy tallied 0-9, while Sam O'Farrell netted his first Tipp goal and assisted another. Yet, Willie Connors was the standout performer, clipping 0-5 from midfield. They had 12 different scorers in total. After this non-event fixture, both managers reached for the word 'application' in the first sentence of their post-match interviews to allocate praise. In the words of John Giles, they took the game on its merits. It was over just beyond the four-minute mark, by which time Tipp had rattled an unanswered 1-5. They took their foot off the gas, and Laois kept within one point for the remainder of the half to trail 1-18 to 0-12 at midway. 'It was always going to be tough to react and respond considering the six-day turnaround and everything that goes with losing a final,' said Tommy Fitzgerald, still processing the fresh wound of their Joe McDonagh defeat. 'It was a big, big ask. A fresh Tipp team after being off for four weeks. It's a bit of a… maybe today isn't the day to speak about my opinions on that particular fixture. It is what it is. 'The boys came in Tuesday night, and we had a recovery session. We weren't even able to train, to be honest with you.' Tipp had 26 shots in either half, mining 2-14 in the second, while twice belting the woodwork. A flagging Laois struck 0-6 in reply for a 23-point margin of defeat. Like the first half, Tipp did their best work in the opening four minutes. With Cahill's corrections still fresh, they took care of business with goals from O'Farrell and Forde. That presented Tipp with the opportunity to rest some players and trial others. Robert Doyle, Andrew Ormond, Ronan Maher, Craig Morgan, and McCarthy were called ashore. In came Johnny Ryan, Peter McGarry, Brian McGrath, and Joe Fogarty for their first championship involvements of 2025. For former football panellist McGarry, it marked his first senior appearance in the small-ball code. He put his hand up the highest for further minutes. Showing impressive pace and passing, the St Mary's prospect teed up points for Alan Tynan and John McGrath before slotting one of his own. In between, he came close to a debut goal only to crack the post. 'We're still keeping one eye on making sure that we're unearthing as many players as we can,' noted Cahill. John McGrath, who smacked the crossbar, Fogarty, and Oisín O'Donoghue also came close to green flags. Earlier, keeper Dunne had denied McCarthy and produced a trademark double save to foil Forde and John McGrath. Laois did raise 40 shots at the posts, but converted just 45%. They ended with 17 wides. Free-taker Tomás Keyes matched McCarthy's 0-9 tally, and midfielder Paddy Purcell came within one point of Connors' mark, shooting 0-4. Rhys Shelly had one save to make, from Keyes, in order to ensure Tipp's first championship clean sheet in 12 attempts. 'The first step was just to give fellas a bit of time back,' said Cahill of their approach to the four-week layoff since securing Munster progression. 'A week break to get back into the swing of things and just come down from the exertions of a really intense Munster Championship. A number of players got County League action in and got back in among their own at home. Then, we ramped it up over the last two weeks. 'We've got a good block of training in, and it's a case now of really freshening up for Galway.' Scorers for Laois: T Keyes (0-9, 6 frees); P Purcell (0-4); D Hartnett, P Delaney, J Walshe, J Keyes, A Dunphy (0-1 each). Scorers for Tipperary: J Forde (2-5, 0-2 frees); D McCarthy (0-9, 6 frees, 1 65); W Connors (0-5); S O'Farrell (1-1); A Ormond, J McGrath (0-3 each); R Doyle, J Caesar, A Tynan, J Fogarty, P McGarry, O O'Donoghue (0-1 each). LAOIS: C Dunne; C Comerford, P Delaney, D Hartnett; R Mullaney, L Cleere, J Walshe; D Dooley, P Purcell; FC Fennell, T Keyes, A Corby; M Dowling, B Conroy, J Keyes. Subs: T Cuddy for Delaney (35, inj), J Lennon for Corby (49), A Dunphy for Dowling (51), P Dunne for Mullaney (57), M Phelan for Walshe (64). TIPPERARY: R Shelly; R Doyle, B O'Mara, M Breen; S Kennedy, C Morgan, R Maher; J Caesar, W Connors; A Tynan, A Ormond, S O'Farrell; J Forde, J McGrath, D McCarthy. Subs: J Ryan for Doyle (h-t), O O'Donoghue for Ormond (47), P McGarry for Maher (47), B McGrath for Morgan (54), J Fogarty for McCarthy (55). Referee: C Mooney (Dublin).