Sports
No progression for Akinola, Olatunde or Raftery in Birmingham
Bori Akinola, Israel Olatunde and Jack Raftery all failed to progress from their respective semi-finals on another frustrating night for Irish athletes at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham.
With Dublin Sarah Healy just missing out a medal when finishing fourth earlier in the evening, Bori Akinola finished in fourth place in semi-final one of the men’s 100m in 10.38 seconds.
Akinola, who was part of the Men’s 4x100m relay team at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome, won his 100m heat earlier this morning.
Disappointed after coming so close to making a European 100m final but Bori Akinola can reflect on what has been his ‘most consistent year’ of performance #rtesport #EuropeanAthletics #Birmingham2026
@ pic.twitter.com/iqRHzTbYWm— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 11, 2026
While this evening’s time of 10.38 seconds left him with a slight chance of progressing to the final, both of the other semi-finals were faster, moving Akinola down to 16th place overall, and out of the competition.
In the third semi-final, Israel Olatunde running in lane nine, finished in seventh place, in 10.49 seconds. His time left him in 20th place overall after the three semi-finals, meaning the UCD graduate didn’t make the 100m Final either later this evening.
“It’s been an interesting year for me with injuries one after another, but I wanted to come here and compete and do my best,” Olatunde told RTÉ Sport. “I feel like I did that today. It wasn’t enough, but I’m really proud of myself and the journey I’ve been on this season.”
Olatunde will be back for the men’s 4 x 100m relay on Saturday.
After an injury-interrupted year so far Israel Olatunde told David Gillick that he was glad he could ‘compete’ after finishing seventh in the 100m semi-final #EuropeanAthletics #Birmingham2026 #rtesport@RTE2 @RTEplayer pic.twitter.com/UIhdJSuzzN
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 11, 2026
Jack Raftery, competing in the men’s 400m, could only manage seventh place in the second of three semi-finals of the event. His time meant the DCU Masters student finished in 21st position overall, and as a result, did not progress to the final.
The Donore Harriers’ man will compete in the men’s 4 x 400m relays on Friday.
Jack Raftery taking some satisfaction in giving it a real go in the Men’s 400m semi-finals as he spoke to @DavidGillick #rtesport #EuropeanAthletics #Birmingham2026@RTE2 @RTEplayer pic.twitter.com/n11G9VRfOH
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 11, 2026
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