Rhasidat Adeleke claims silver in the 400m at the European Athletics Championships

Ireland's Rhasidat Adeleke has secured a silver medal in the final of the 400m at the European Athletic Championships in Rome, filling the runner-up berth behind Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek.

Lieke Klaver of the Netherlands rounded off the podium places, with Adeleke’s compatriot Sharlene Mawdsley back in eighth.

Kaczmarek recorded a winning time of 48.98 seconds, a personal best and the fastest time in the world this year, with Adeleke clocking 49.07 and Klaver running a season's best of 50.08. Mawdsley crossed the line in 51.59.

Adeleke and Kaczmarek were the big two on paper for gold medal honours heading into the final, but the contrast between the two athletes could hardly have been more stark, only accentuated by them running alongside each other in lanes six and seven.

The Polish woman, occupying lane seven, stands at just a shade over 5ft 4in and was made look more diminutive by having the six-footer from Tallaght AC on her inside.

Adeleke clocked a season's best of 50.54 in advancing from the semi-finals as the fastest qualifier and the 21-year-old boasts a personal best of 49.20, with that Irish record set in her win at last year’s collegiate NCAA Championships in Texas.

Kaczmarek’s previous personal best was 49.48, while her best time this year had been 49.80.

Klaver, racing in lane eight, was the only other woman in the field to have ever run under 50 seconds.

When the gun sounded, the contrasting styles of Adeleke and Kaczmarek were again immediately apparent, with the latter boasting a higher stride rate and Adeleke exhibiting her characteristic long, raking cadence.

There was little to separate the two over the first 200 metres, but Adeleke assumed a narrow lead as they arrived into the home straight.

However, the