‘I feel so grateful to her’ – Adeleke thanks mam after Euro silver win
RHASIDAT Adeleke expressed gratitude to her mam Adewumi after the Tallaght athlete stormed to a personal best in the 400m final to claim silver.
Adeleke secured silver and set a new Irish record in the final of the 400m at the European Athletic Championships in Rome on Monday, clocking a personal best of 49.07.
Despite a powerful race for gold, Adeleke was unable to hold onto a narrow lead as the Tallaght AC runner and Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek hit the home straight.
After a final burst, Kaczmarek pushed ahead, crossing the line in a winning time of 48.98, a personal best for the 26-year-old who set a new national record and the fastest 400m time in the world this year.
Ireland’s Charlene Mawdsley also took to the track for the 400m, crossing the line in 51.59.
?SILVER for Rhasidat Adeleke with a PB of 49.07) in the women’s 400m final with Sharlene Mawdsley eighth ☘️ #Roma2024
? Watch on @RTE2 & @RTEplayer pic.twitter.com/nbep3svaED— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) June 10, 2024
Speaking to RTE Sport after the event, Adeleke, who is ranked fourth in the world, said: “When I crossed the line and realised I came second, I was a bit devastated.
“But as my coach said, we’ve been training through this competition, so to come out here and run a PB, I’m really excited.
“This is my first 400m competition of the year as well, so I’m really excited.
“Whatever we can do here, we’ll do, but we’ve been training and are going to continue training really hard for the next couple of weeks and hopefully when it comes time for Paris, I’ll be where I need to be.”
Adeleke also paid tribute to her mam Adewumi for helping her secure silver.
“If you know my mam, she comes to every single meet”, Adeleke, who hugged her mam straight after the race, said.
“Ever since I was growing up and doing athletics, she put me first all the time.
“She would switch shifts at work, she would always take annual leave to come watch my meets, take me everywhere and pay for everything.
“To be able to be here doing what I do and what I love, putting all this work in, I just feel so grateful to her because I definitely wouldn’t be here without her.”
