Rhasidat Adeleke now Irish record holder from 60m to 400m
There is no argument that she is possibly the best Irish prospect to emerge this century, even all-time
Sprinter Rhasidat Adeleke continued her wrecking ball approach to the Irish record book last weekend, chopping huge amounts from her own national 200m and 400m records.
The 20-year-old opened on Friday evening by stopping the clock over 200m at 22.34 seconds to better her own 22.52 seconds indoor mark.
She returned to the track the following day to print her name indelibly in Irish athletics history by becoming the first woman from this island to break 50 seconds for the distance.
Her 49.90 seconds clocking improved her own record of 50.33 seconds set indoors at Lubbock, Texas in February.
Earlier this month, she was part of University of Texas relay quartets which set NCAA records in the 4x100, 4x200 and the sprint medley, before she anchored the 4x400m to victory with a hand-timed split of 49.2 seconds.
Adeleke now holds all the Irish records from 60m indoors to 400m outdoors. There is no argument that she is possibly the best Irish prospect to emerge this century, even all-time.
Adeleke’s 400m time at the weekend would have been good enough for fourth place at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon and she is already being talked of being a medallist this year in Hungary.
The pressure is already being put on her to take part, but could her participation be detrimental to her long-term development?
The Corporate Communication major does not turn 21 until 29 August, six days after the 400m final in Budapest.
Last year she had in the region of 50 races that spanned from the start of February until the European Championships toward the end of August.
She is already fast approaching 20 races in 2023 and the outdoor season is only getting underway.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships take place June (7-10) on her ‘home’ track in Austin and before then she has, among other competitions, the Big 12 Outdoor Championships and NCAA West Preliminaries.
After that, it will be the usual merry-go-round at home with Irish Nationals and possibly Morton Games and Cork City Sports. And then there is the European Nations Cup and the European U23 Championships. ''
With next year’s Olympics already looming on the horizon, it promises to be a long summer for Adeleke. Let’s hope there will not be a price to pay in the long term.
