Irish relay team a force to be reckoned with - Adeleke

With the spotlight rarely shining as bright on Irish indoor athletics, Rhasidat Adeleke was keeping tabs on the exploits of her compatriots as the women's relay 4x400m team claimed fifth at the Indoor World Championships in Glasgow.

Phil Healy, Sophie Becker, Róisín Harrison and Sharlene Mawdsley combined to clock a time of 3:28.92, just outside of their semi-final national record time.

Similar to Ciara Mageean and Andrew Coscoran, Adeleke opted against travelling to the championships to fine-tune preparations ahead of the outdoor season.

Ireland finished two and a half seconds off the bronze position, but some observers feel her presence could well have seen Irish representation on the indoor podium for the first time since Derval O’Rourke’s gold in 2006.

Does Adeleke, who was ruled out of the 4x400m team at last year's World Championships due to injury, think she could have pushed Ireland up the standings?

"Who knows? "You could say if I was there, but anything could happen. They did exactly what they were capable of. I was really proud of them," she told RTÉ Sport.

"It was amazing to see that we can really get up there to be medal contenders. We are a force to be reckoned with in the relays now.

"They have proven that over the years, it’s becoming consistent. When you see an Irish singlet (in a relay event), that’s a threat."

The 21-year-old was following the results more than watching the championships, though did see the controversial overtaking manoeuvre that saw Mawdlsey disqualified in the 400m.

"I feel that is so normal in indoor running, she shouldn’t have been disqualified," Adeleke says. "She deserved to be in the final."

For all the feel-good factor around the team, there are no regrets from the University of Texas