Just a day after breaking her own Irish 200m record, Rhasidat Adeleke became the first Irish woman to run below 50 seconds for the 400m.
The 20-year-old, who was running for the University of Texas at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Florida, ran 49.90 as she finished second behind Britton Wilson. The American beat Adeleke at the NCAA Indoor Championships 400m final in March.
Saturday's time would have been quick enough to finish fourth in last year's World Athletics Championships final in Oregon, and sixth in the 400m final at the Tokyo Olympics.
It also took 0.43 off her previous best for the distance - which was also the Irish record - of 50.33. The Dubliner ran that time indoors at the Big 12 Championships in February.
Adeleke's previous best outdoors was the 50.53 which she ran in the European final in Munich last year, a race in which she finished fifth.
An amazing sub 50 @irishathletics NR for @rhasidatadeleke over 400m (49.90) at the Tom Jones Memorial meet in Florida just now. Finishing second to Britton Wilson who she finished second to at the NCAA Division 1 Indoor final. WOW! pic.twitter.com/5uTIN0onDR
— Seamus Carey (@SeamusCarey) April 15, 2023
Adeleke only took up the 400m last year. She said in March that she still isn't sure what her limits are in the event.
"Most people who have been running the event for years, they know what their pace is, they can strategise and say ‘OK, if I go out this fast, I’ll able to finish up this fast because this is usually how fast I finish'," she said.
"I’m still not familiar with what my limits are so I might go out a little bit slow, I might go out a bit slower than I actually can and that’s definitely something I’m working on, to be able to understand my body and understand how fast I can go without tensing up too much.
"I definitely do think I have a long way to go. I can see it with the training, I just started the training in October and it’s definitely been hard but I feel like I’m getting better, I’m getting stronger."
💥NEW NATIONAL 400M RECORD FOR RHASIDAT ADELEKE💥
49.90 for @rhasidatadeleke at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Florida, smashing her own 400m record of 50.33a which she clocked indoors back in February🔥🔥WOW!!!
Result: https://t.co/fHxhS1SnIy#IrishAthletics pic.twitter.com/wiRFLyMgYA— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) April 15, 2023
See Also: The Big Takeaways From Rhasidat Adeleke's Astonishing Weekend In Texas
