Rhasidat Adeleke flew in from Texas to take gold in the women’s 100M at the Irish Life Health National Senior Track and Field Championships, and is on her way to the Senior World Championships in Oregon this July.
The highly anticipated sprinter came in first by exactly 11.68 seconds against her competitor Molly Scott, who came in just one 100th of a second behind Adeleke.
“I’ve been doing a lot of endurance, strength work and I’ll have to see how my body feels after Worlds,” she told the Irish Examiner after her race. “I’ve had a long season and I wouldn’t be too disappointed not to go, but it would be a great opportunity.”
Adeleke has been in flying form this year, breaking almost every Irish record possible. At the NCAA indoor Championships she broke the Irish 60M record with a time of 7.17.
She broke the 300M record clocking at 36.87, breaking Karen Shinkins’ Irish record which stood for 21 years. This April the sprinter lowered her own National Record running 22.59 in the 200M.
A month later she broke the Irish senior women’s 400m record at the Big 12 Championships in Lubbock, Texas, clocking 50.70.
Adeleke has met the qualifying times for the 200M and 400M for the Senior World Championships.
The sprinter competed in the European under-20 World Championships last year, taking gold in both the 100M and 200M races at age 18 in Tallinn. Only one sprinter had done that before; Great Britain’s Jodie Williams in 2011.
However, the Senior World Championships will have competition unlike her past events.
This competition calls to athletes like Elaine Thompson-Herah, Gabriel Thomas, Christine Mboma who placed in the 200M last year. And Shaunae Miller-Uibu, Marileidy Paulino and Christine Mboma who placed in the 400M.
Thompson-Herah earned gold last year with a time of 21.53 in her 200M race. So far, Adeleke has clocked in at a 22.59, which is now the Irish record.
Miller-Uibu earned her gold last year in the 400M with a time of 48.36. Adeleke’s fastest 400M is clocked at 50.70.
While Adeleke holds the Irish record for the 60M, 200M, 300M and 400M, this competition will take her experience as a runner to the next level.
Adeleke is now 19 years old and is expected to perform in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. She was not selected for the Ireland 4x400M relay team for the 2021 Olympics which sparked outrage and confusion.
Although the Irish Examiner attributed this decision to her lack of 400M races that summer, track star Sonia O’Sullivan called the choice “one of the worst decisions ever made by Athletics Ireland” in a Tweet.
