Rhasidat Adeleke v Sharlene Mawdsley: Irish duo to face off after powering into 400m final as Chris O’Donnell disqualified

Adeleke set off at a swift tempo in her race, turning for home roughly level with Britain’s Laviai Nielsen, but the Irishwoman was easily the stronger in the home straight, taking victory and ensuring a decent lane draw for Monday night’s final.

“I felt good, it was a good run,” said Adeleke. “I was just good to get a new start after the relay. There was so much going with that and it was just important to keep my head down and make sure that I keep remembering the rest of the goals. It was very important to kind of stay grounded and continue on looking forward to the rest of the competition.”

Adeleke’s chief threat in the battle for gold will likely be Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek, who took victory in the second semi-final looking equally as comfortable as Adeleke, clocking 50.70. Ireland’s Sophie Becker had a strong run in fourth in that race, clocking 51.54, which was not enough to advance.

“It’s bittersweet,” said Becker. “I did everything I thought I could but ultimately it wasn’t enough so I’m disappointed. I thought I might run the Olympic qualification time but I didn’t, it’d be nice to sleep at night knowing I’m not relying on the rankings (to qualify).

How does Adeleke feel about another major final on Monday night?

“Anything can happen and you just never know so I’m always really grateful to make it,” she said. “I just always have to cut my blessings because I could have went the other way, so I always appreciate it and now I made a final safely. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Mawdsley squared off with Lieke Klaver of the Netherlands in her semi-final, turning for home in close contention but the Dutch star proved the stronger coming home, winning in 50.57 with Mawdsley also securing automatic qualification in second with 50.99.

“That’s the job done, I’m really happy,” said Mawdsley. “I knew I was safe in second so I didn’t want to dig too deep in that home straight. I was a bit wrecked after the relay but no complaints after the gold medal.”

Chris O’Donnell was disqualified for a lane infringement in his semi-final of the men’s 400m, the Sligo athlete, who was running his third race in three days, initially crossing the line fourth in 45.72, which regardless would not have been enough to advance to the final.

“It was a really solid run, it’s no big deal,” he said of the disqualification for stepping on the inside line on the bend. “It’s three really solid runs. The priority for this championship was the relay and then to see what I had left for the 400m and there was no tail-off whatsoever. It’s a big step forward compared to my last championships and I’m going to be going home really happy. It gives me a lot of confidence, going into the next few weeks, it’s exciting and I’ll be able to go much faster.”

Mark Smyth bowed out of the men’s 200m after finishing a fine fifth in his semi-final in a season’s best of 20.86, having advanced through his heat in the morning with 20.93.