It was yet another Irish record for Rhasidat Adeleke as she stormed to 400m gold at the NCAA championships.
Her time of 49.20, a meet and facility record on her home track in Texas, made her the first Irish sprinter to win NCAA gold, and the first Irish athlete to win a title in any NCAA event since 2006, when Mary Cullen won the 5000m.
It also knocked .34 seconds off Adeleke's own national record. That's the 7th national record Adeleke has broken this year.
Second place went to American Britton Wilson of the University of Arkansas in 49.64 seconds, well short of her PB.
TRACK. DEFENDED!
Rhasidat Adeleke made a statement with her time of 49.20 🔥 pic.twitter.com/wUATJt9cgm— Texas T&F/XC (@TexasTFXC) June 11, 2023
"I just went out trusting myself," said a happy Adeleke after the race.
"I'm not really sure what I went through the 200 in. I just put myself into position coming into the home stretch, and it was the kick at the end, which is something I've been doing well all season."
She also gratefully acknowledged her Irish fans.
"The Irish fanbase is one of the strongest fanbases in the world. If you see the way Twitter goes crazy whenever I break a record, win a race, I appreciate it so much, I really appreciate it in my heart, because knowing I have such a strong community behind me gives me so much motivation."
@rhasidatadeleke speaking after THAT 400m win at the NCAA Championships in the early hours of this morning 🤯🙌🏼🇮🇪
⏱49:20NR pic.twitter.com/ZB1Fbdyxdz— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) June 11, 2023
Adeleke also helped her University of Texas team win the 4x100m relay.
Meanwhile, Sophie O'Sullivan was disappointed after struggling in the 1500m final. She was the fastest to qualify on Thursday in 4:09.58, which would've been good enough to win her 4th place in the final, but she struggled day of, finishing 12th and last in 4:22.81, over 14 seconds behind winner Maia Ramsden.
"Picked a sh*t day to have a sh*t day," O'Sullivan captioned a post on Instagram. "3 for 4 wins in the last few weeks but couldn't notch it when it counted - back to the drawing board. 12th (dfl) in the NCAA will have to do for now."
Still, O'Sullivan's had a remarkable season; her PB of 4:08.06 set a few weeks ago (nearly a 10 second improvement from her PB from last year) put her at #11 in NCAA history.
