Amid a galaxy of young athletics stars, it was she who shone brightest – an 18-year-old from Tallaght stamping her superiority over Europe’s best, sparking both unbridled hope for the future of Irish athletics along with a few regrets about the past.

If ever there was a doubt about just how good an athlete Rhasidat Adeleke is, she dispelled it in emphatic fashion in Tallinn, Estonia over the weekend, powering to two gold medals at the European U-20 Championships.

No one got close to her in the 100m or 200m final, Adeleke winning the 100m on Friday in 11.34 before running 22.90 to win the 200m by a street on Saturday, faster than any Irishwoman in history. And she’s just 18.

If there was one thing that stung for many watching, it’s that this was an athlete who will not be in action at the Tokyo Olympics. Adeleke fell agonisingly short of qualifying while focusing on the 100m and 200m in recent months, but she seemed a sensible choice for one of the three female spots on the mixed 4x400m after splitting a 50.96-second leg at the NCAA Championships in June, almost a full second faster than any other Irish athlete this year.

However, she was overlooked due to her lack of outdoor 400m races this summer. In the 4x400m that concluded her weekend and her season yesterday, she clocked the fastest split in the field with 52.54, going for broke over the first half to haul the Irish team up into third, before fading to fifth in the home stretch, their effort rewarded with an Irish U-20 record of 3:37.39.

There was a fine performance too by Bandon’s Diarmuid O’Connor who set an Irish U-20 decathlon record of 7,604 points to finish fourth, setting personal bests in eight of the 10 events.

It was a breakthrough weekend on other fronts, too, with a duo of Irish teenage middle-distance talents ascending to the top of the European underage ranks.

First there was Cian McPhillips, the 19-year-old from Longford running a masterful tactical race in the men’s 1,500m final, spending his energies in economic fashion before kicking to gold in 3:46.55. It was his first medal at this level, but almost certainly won’t be his last.

Moments later a new star announced himself in truly astonishing fashion, his name, Nick Griggs, being one that is worth remembering if this is the first time you’ve read it.

The 16-year-old from Tyrone only took up the sport last year and had faced tragedy this summer, his older brother Joshua dying after a workplace accident in early June.

It was impressive enough that Griggs got on the line at all over the weekend, but in the men’s 3,000m final on Saturday he did far more, racing like a man against boys.

In reality, Griggs was the youngest in the field by more than a year but after easing to the front on the final lap he showed a range of gears that none of Europe’s best teenagers could match, sprinting to gold in 8:17.18. He was so unruffled by his effort that he kept running right through the line, into the arms of exultant Irish team-mates.

Meanwhile, as the clock ticks down to the start of this year’s Olympics on Friday, there has been a smattering of Covid-19 cases among the arriving delegations, with organisers yesterday confirming three new cases among athletes.

Two were among the South African football team who were based in the village. Six members of the British team have been required to self-isolate after someone on their flight tested positive after arriving.