Sonia O’Sullivan: Finishing fourth only adds to hunger and drive to go one step better

The World Athletics Championships in Budapest is everything that everyone could wish it to be.

The newly built National Athletics stadium has immediately become part of the landscape, on the edge of a city already packed full of Unesco World Heritage buildings. There is so much to see and do, you can even capture the grandeur from along the banks of the Danube river as you whizz by on the electric scooters or city bikes that have proven the most efficient ways to get to and from the stadium.

There is so much action in the stadium each evening, and even the morning sessions are not short of drama. It’s hard to find time to actually take time out and do more than admire the amazing buildings and structures including the 19th-century chain bridge that connects the hilly old town Buda to the flat Pest district, a bridge which the marathon runners this weekend will traverse eight times over the four lap course.

The marathon will avoid the hills with just a gentle incline each time the runners cross the river over the magnificent Szechenyi Chain Bridge that leads to the Buda Castle tunnel where runners will get some relief from the searing temperatures as the race progresses. It’s an impressively clever routing.

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[ Malachy Clerkin: Bittersweet mix of heartbreak and pride on the Rhasidat Adeleke rollercoaster ]

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So far this week the heat has been on the track and there is no shortage of fast times and championship records across track and field events. The track is fast and the athletes are rising to the occasion and embracing the energy from the fans who are totally engaged in action on the track and across the field events.

The loudest cheers have been for when the Hungarian athletes are introduced and they are carried around the stadium by a rapturous cheer.

But, then, there’s the Irish.

The next loudest and most visible fans are the Irish and this week they have had so much to cheer about. Every athlete that has stepped on to the track has raised the bar and set the standard for the rest of Team Ireland to deliver results they can be proud of and which sets them on the path towards the Paris Olympics.

As they step off the track with this World Championship complete, they can already look forward to what’s next, each with a spring in their step, and with a continuous string of positive performances through the week I believe it’s the best we have ever seen from Irish athletes on the World stage across the board so far.

With still the final weekend to come, we have seen two individual finalists for Ireland on the track as well as the mixed 4x 400m that finished a credible sixth place on day two and set the tone for those following.

Ciara Mageean and Rhasidat Adeleke were expected to be in the final and to compete for the medals and that is how it transpired.

First up was Ciara in one of the most competitive events, the women’s 1,500m. Ciara has been able to position herself in races so that she can get the best from herself, having the ability to balance her energy and put herself in contention with more to give in the closing stages. And she did just that as the race entered the final circuit and was in prime position to strike for a medal but with Faith Kipyegon, Gudaf Tsegay and Siffan Hassan ahead of her.

Ciara gave it all she had. She knew it would take an Irish record for her to get a medal. She got that national record and still came up short in fourth place. You could hardly ask for more from her as she finished in that bittersweet fourth place that nobody wants. It’s so close but still so far from stepping up on the podium and taking home a medal.

It’s a tough place to be. I know (I finished fourth in the Worlds that time in Stuttgart in ‘93 and got my gold in Gothenburg in ‘95). But it only adds to the hunger and drive to go one step better next time and that next time in Paris may be all the sweeter knowing you belong there. You just keep turning up and the rewards will come.

In a similar boat to Ciara is Rhasidat Adeleke.

Ciara is ranked third in the world at 1,500m, Rhasidat is 10th in the 400m, but on this year’s performances Rhasidat had the fourth best time with Ciara in eighth. All these statistics are just a guide when you line up for the World Championship final and the gun goes off.

Ciara was able to position herself perfectly knowing that she now belongs at the front of these races. She has earned that belief and confidence and also much earned the respect of her competitors.

Rhasidat is new to this game. In her first World Championship final and lining up against much more experienced athletes, it was always going to take something special for her to challenge for the medals but oftentimes inexperience can inhibit any fears when you have nothing to lose.

There was a lot of expectation to deliver the elusive medal for Ireland at these championships and there were tricolours to be seen throughout the stadium. Any Irish fans in Budapest made sure to get to the stadium on Wednesday night hoping to witness an Irish medal for Rhasidat in the women’s 400m and they certainly made their presence felt.

It wasn’t to be this time. Rhasidat got off to a faster start than we saw in the earlier rounds but unlike her Irish record-breaking races earlier in the season, as she passed the 200m mark there were athletes all around: Marileidy Paulino from Dominican Republic who took the victory in a national record time, followed by Natalia Kaczmarek of Poland and Sada Williams of Barbados. All of them ranked ahead of Rhasidat and probably not carrying the weight of a nation on their shoulders to deliver the first World track medal back to Ireland in 28 years.

Still, it was an impressive series of races from Rhasidat and there is no doubt with less commitments to college races over the coming year she will be able to plan out her year with the big goal of the Olympic Final in Paris. Her time will undoubtedly come.

Both Ciara and Rhasidat are within striking distance of a medal. And Sarah Lavin was just three places away from a spot in the final.

So, even without a medal (so far!), there’s lots to cheer about and no doubt many Irish fans will be eyeing up ways to get to Paris and experience a little bit of the Budapest Irish energy that was felt all around the stadium throughout this week.