Adeleke smashes 400m record in sensational Sacramento sprint

RHASIDAT Adeleke obliterated her own Irish 400m record over the weekend, the third fastest time in the world so far this year.

The Tallaght sprinter, who was competing in the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association) West Regional Championships in Sacramento, California, won her race in a sensational 49.54 seconds.

The performance sees Adeleke advance from the quarter finals with ease, while smashing her previous Irish 400m record of 49.90, which she set in Florida last month.

A third-year student at the University of Texas, this is the sixth Irish record for Adeleke since the start of 2023.

Commenting after Adeleke’s win, Athletics Ireland said: “Her latest record is another spectacular step forward in the 20-year-old’s remarkable young career as she moves into the top fifty on the world all-time list for the event, now sitting in 45th.

.@rhasidatadeleke making 49.54 look easy ?

WHAT A FINISH ?

?Track Gazettepic.twitter.com/deRGr1JqZ5

— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) May 28, 2023

“The time is also the third fastest in the world so far this year and would have been good enough for silver at the last World Championships in Oregon in July 2022 and fourth in the Tokyo Olympic final the year previous.

“Britton Wilson (Arkansas) advances to the finals as the only woman faster than Adeleke.

“The NCAA record holder won her quarter-final in a time of 49.51.

“Adeleke will now have her eyes firmly set on another individual NCAA medal in two weeks’ time after winning silver at the Indoor Championships back in February.”