Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke has qualified for her first Olympic final after finishing second in her heat in the 400 metres at the Stade de France.
In doing so, the 21-year-old becomes the first Irish woman to qualify for a sprint final at the Olympics.
Bahrain’s Salwa Nid Naser won the opening heat in a time of 49.08 seconds ahead of Adeleke, who clocked 49.95 seconds.
“It was quite messy, but I’m going to hopefully be able to talk to my coach and fix the things I need to fix for the final,” Adeleke told BBC Sport NI.
“I think this is where I’ve raced my whole life. I’m going to be able to go out there and give my all.”
The first start was called off due to a false start by Dutch runner Lieke Klaver, who was shown a warning by officials.
The second start was successful as Adeleke, who comfortably won her heat on Tuesday, went out hard with Naser in the opening 200 metres.
The Bahrain athlete was able to pull away in the final 100 metres, and Adeleke looked to ease off in the closing stages and just held off Norway’s Henriette Jaeger, who was third in 50.17 seconds.
“I was looking at the screen the whole time,” Adeleke added.
“It wasn’t my goal to chase her [Naser] down, just to make sure I was in second place.”
The final at the Stade de France takes place on Friday at 19:00 BST.