18-year-old sprinter Rhasidat Adeleke is one of the brightest young stars in Irish sport, and her stock has only risen after a record breaking performance at the Big 12 Championships in New York this weekend.
Adeleke is currently on an athletic scholarship at the University of Texas and at last night's meet in Manhattan she broke Phil Healy's Irish record in the 200m, as she ran a sensational 22.96 in the semi-final to break the previous record by 0.03 seconds.
She also broke the Irish U-20 and U-23 record for the 100m, with a 11.31 time that is only 0.03 off the Irish senior record (also held by Healy).
💥NEW IRISH RECORDS FOR RHASIDAT ADELEKE💥@rhasidatadeleke had a night to remember at the Big 12 Champs last night, breaking Phil Healy’s Irish 200m record with a stunning 22.96, as well as the Irish U20 & U23 100m records with an 11.31🤩🙌👏
➡️https://t.co/3FNsS8WW4o pic.twitter.com/jHB1Y5EGPR— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) May 16, 2021
Healy recently qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in the mixed relay, and she tweeted last night praising Adeleke.
She said that her records were there to be broken, and said she was excited to see what was to come in the future from Adeleke.
100%! Massive congrats Rhasidat! Insane run and unreal performances across all distances to date! 🔥🔥 No doubt there plenty more to come 💥 Best of luck in the finals today!
— Phil Healy (@philhealy2) May 16, 2021
Dubliner Adeleke has impressed for several years now and her continually impressive performances will have Irish fans excited for the future of Irish track athletics. She took gold in both the 100m and 200m at the 2019 European Youth Olympics in Baku, and she only continues to come on leaps and bounds in those disciplines.
Adeleke's performance on Saturday night in New York drew praise on Twitter from Irish sporting stars such as David Gillick, as well as from the Department of Sport.
🌟 Comhghairdeas @rhasidatadeleke 🇮🇪
Congratulations to Rhasidat Adeleke on new Irish record! https://t.co/6uHLHubURf— Tourism-Culture-Arts-Gaeltacht-Sport-Media (@DeptCulturelRL) May 16, 2021
Adeleke took home an impressive second place in the 100m final on a blustery day in Manhattan, running an 11.36 to take a silver. She was also part of the 4x100m team from Texas that came home in first earlier on Sunday afternoon.
The 200m final will begin at 7:30pm Irish time.
SEE ALSO: Roger Federer Says Athletes Need More Clarity On The Tokyo Olympics
