Adeleke finishes fourth in World Championship 400m final
RHASIDAT Adeleke impressed as she clocked a 50.13 second time en route to a fourth place finish in her first ever World Athletics Championship Final in Budapest, Hungary tonight.
Racing in the Women’s 400m decider, the Tallaght athlete pushed a solid pace in the lap but had to settle for a place just outside the medals due to the ferocity of her opposition.
The Tallaght Athletic Club star massively impressed as she raced alongside the world number one ranked Marileidy Paulino and number two Natalia Kaczmarek – who claimed first and second place in the 400m final respectively.
Just through making this evening’s World Final, the former St Mark’s National School student became the first Irish sprinter to reach this stage of the competition in 14 years.
A week shy of her 21st birthday, Adeleke is the first sprinter since David Gillick in 2009 to reach a final at the World Senior Championships.
23 August 2023; Rhasidat Adeleke of Ireland, centre, competes in the women’s 400m during day five of the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
During Monday evening’s semi-final, Adeleke crossed the line in a time of 49.87, racing to a second-place finish to secure her place in this evening’s decider.
It was an impressive feat, with the 20-year-old finishing second in the semi-final to Olympic silver medalist Paulino, ultimately copper fastening a spot in her first global final in the process.
Before that, en route to the penultimate round, the NCAA 400m champion ran a qualifying time of 50.80 in the heats in Budapest on Sunday.
The Tallaght AC star coasted across the line in pole position, strides ahead of the opposition, in heat five of the Women’s 400m to secure passage to the semi-final.
The former Presentation Community College student recently turned professional, making her debut donning the Nike colours in July.
An Irish record holder over both 200m and 400m, Adeleke lowered her own previous national record in the latter with a 49.20 in June to bring the curtain down on her NCAA career.
Adeleke rounded out her second year at the University of Texas with the record-breaking time at the NCAA Championships on her home track in May.
