Rhasidat Adeleke broke her own Irish record for the women's 400 metres by winning the Big 12 Conference final in Lubbock Texas last night in a time of 50.33 seconds (Feb 25th).
Representing the University of Texas, Adeleke went through the opening 200 metres in 23.62 before powering down the home straight to claim first place in a new NCAA record (which was later rebroken).
It moves Adeleke to 13th on the world indoor all-time lists and makes her a leading contender for the 400m title at next month’s NCAA Indoor Championships.
Just three weeks ago, the 20-year-old had set a new Irish best performance over 400m to become the fastest Irish woman in history – smashing the Irish record of Karen Shinkins which has stood for 21 years (51.58 back in 2002).
The new mark of 50.33 moves Adeleke to number two in the world women's indoor 400 metres rankings behind Femke Bol of the Netherlands.
Adeleke has continued on from her remarkable 2022 form which saw her set Irish records at 60m, 200m, 300m and 400m at the age of 19. The Tallaght AC athlete has already reached new heights this season, smashing the Irish 200m record with 22.52 in January before lowering the 400m record.
Full Result: HERE
Earlier on Saturday, Andrew Coscoran (Star of the Sea AC) broke the Irish 1500m record with a blistering 3.33.49 at the World Indoor Tour Meet in Birmingham, while Nick Griggs improved on his own Irish U20 1500m record in the same race in 3.39.40.
Read more HERE
- Records subject to ratification