Adeleke continuing to break new ground for Irish athletics
RHASIDAT Adeleke continues to break new ground for Irish sprint athletics, setting new Irish women’s indoor 200m and 60m records when competing for the University of Texas in Albuquerque over the weekend.
Her stunning time of 22.85 in the former at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic saw her become the first Irish female to break the 23-second mark as she finished runner-up to team-mate Kynnedy Flannel, who took the race in a time of 22.80.
Phil Healy’s 23.10 which had been set in Athlone back in February 2020 had stood as the previous fastest Irish time.
Adeleke did not stop there, posting a blistering time of 7.21m over 60m to surpass the previous national indoor best of 7.23 set by Molly Scott the weekend before.
Her latest feats followed hot on the heels of her record-breaking display over 300m at the recent Clemson Invite in South Carolina.
Indeed, her finishing time of 36.87 in that outing marked the first time an Irish female athlete had broken the 37-second barrier as she surpassed the previous national indoor best over that distance by Healy (who recorded 37.56 back in 2017) as well as the top Irish outdoor time of 37.07 held by Karen Shinkins.
No doubt, the 2021 European Under 20 sprint double champion will be very much encouraged by this blistering start to 2022 as she continues in her bid to make a massive impact on the NCAA scene and possibly compete at World and European Championships later in the year.
