Adeleke helps Ireland to sixth place finish in relay final at European Championships
Rhasidat Adeleke of Ireland competes in the Women's 4x400m Relay Final during day 10 of the European Championships 2022 at the Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile

Adeleke helps Ireland to sixth place finish in relay final at European Championships

Tallaght’s Rhasidat Adeleke produced another excellent performance in Munich this evening as Ireland finished sixth in the 4 x 400 metres women’s relay final at the European Athletics Championships.

Racing in the third leg, Adeleke (who currently represents Texas University in US) made serious ground – as she had in the previous day’s semi-final – to move Ireland from seventh up to fifth coming up the home stretch. It proved to be a bridge too far for the Irish team as the Netherlands, Poland and Great Britain stormed away into the medal positions, but it was a strong run overall from the Irish quartet on show as they clocked a final time of 3:26.63.

Adeleke had already enjoyed a productive championship as she claimed a very respectable fifth in the 400 metres final at the German capital on Wednesday night. Her time of 51.08 in this race was a new national record and she also helped to ensure a new Irish relay record was set at the semi-final stage of the 4 x 400.

In a tough field, it was Wexford’s Sophie Becker who led Ireland from the front and she had her team in the top-six by the time she handed the baton over to Cork athlete Phil Healy. The competition became ferocious from here and even though Adeleke was in a difficult position for her leg of the final, she showed her mettle by overtaking a brace of runners in advance of Sharlene Mawdsley taking over for the final 400 metres.

Adeleke has been a ubiquitous presence on the athletics circuit throughout 2022 and the performances she delivered during the European Championships – which saw her appearing in senior finals for the first time – should stand her in good stead as she looks to make further progression in her fledgling career.

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