A sprint duel that was highly anticipated on the final day of the National Track and Field Championships, turned into a race for the ages as the 400m champion Phil Healy and the 100m gold medallist Rhasidat Adeleke clashed over the distance both regard as their strongest event.
The final of the women's 200m was like a mini sporting soap opera in the space of 22.83 seconds as Healy typically got the expected initial advantage out of the blocks but 18-year-old Adeleke, the taller and with a much longer striding athlete, found her form on the crown of the bend and flew in the lead entering the straight.
Healy, though, wasn't to be deterred and she clawed back to lead and just held off the last ditch surge from Adeleke at the line. The clock registered 22.83 seconds for Healy and 22.84 for Adeleke but an Irish record was denied by a wind speed reading of 2.1 metres per second in Santry which was in excess of the acceptable limit by the smallest possible margin.
The men's 200m final was a much more clearcut contest with Leon Reid, who is likely to be inside the Olympic qualification spots come the deadline on Tuesday, winning in 20.79 seconds.
Raheny's Mark Smyth was second and Marcus Lawler third - all under 21 seconds.
Sarah Lavin's Olympic qualification hopes are just about on track with her 100m hurdles victory in 13.17 seconds. In running her second fastest time ever, she improved her hopes of Olympic qualification but she has to race in Lucerne next Tuesday on deadline day to maximise her prospects.
In other events, Ger O’Donnell won his sixth Irish men's outdoor title in the 110m hurdles while Hiko Tonosa completed the long distance double adding the 10000m gold to his win in the 5000m.
The walks titles went to Kate Veale and Jerome Caprice. Michaela Walsh made it two gold medals at the championships with her win in the shot putt adding to her discus gold while Sarah Buggy also ended up with two golds as well with her success in the triple jump adding to her long jump victory.
