A delighted Rhasidat Adeleke has been giving her reaction to her superb fifth place finish at the European Championships in Munich tonight.
In what was only her sixth individual race over the distance, the teenager from Tallaght ran a sensational new national record of 50.53s to take 0.17s off her previous best from May.
A beaming Rhasidat Adeleke spoke in the immediate aftermath of the race to David Gillick on RTÉ.
"I gave it all I had, it wasn't enough for a medal but I'm happy," Adeleke said.
"It's my first year doing the 400m hopefully I'm going to start training for it this fall and let's see what I can do next year.
"I wish I just had more in my legs for the last 50m. I was looking at the screen and I was like 'oh my god I'm in a medal position', I feel like I shouldn't have done that because it probably threw me off a bit."
'So many people support us in Ireland and I just want to give them something back' - @rhasidatadeleke speaks to @davdgillick after her fifth placed finish in the 400m final at the European Championships #Munich2022 #rtesport pic.twitter.com/YjARYoGXfo
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 17, 2022
Adeleke admitted to the fact that she was aiming for a medal but was pleased with her performance, thanking the Irish fans for their support.
"Honestly I was really hoping for a medal but I have to consider everything, this was like my 50th race of the season.
"So many people support us in Ireland and I just want to give them something back...Thank you for supporting me, thank you for rooting for me.
Adeleke also paid tribute to fellow sprint sensation Israel Olatunde.
"I was so happy for Israel, he's my friend. Since we've joined athletics we've been such good friends.
"I'm glad he's getting the recognition he deserves, he's always been making his way up and I'm just so, so happy for him," she added.
"It's my time, it's our time, it's everybody's time."
RTÉ pundits praise Rhasidat Adeleke
Back in studio Sonia O'Sullivan described the performance as "something else".
"I don't think she's really come to terms with it yet.
"Even just watching her before she was heading out to the start line, she just looked so relaxed and calm."
Rob Heffernan called Rhasidat Adeleke's run "phenomenal."
"I'm delighted, she's brilliant," Heffernan said.
"It's been such a pleasure to watch her all year long and to top it off tonight, the sky is the limit for her."
Derval O'Rourke said Adeleke "means business".
"Everything about Rhasidat is a breath of fresh air.
"I could see her shaking her head at the end when she realised she didn't have a medal and then she realised she had a national record, but she's only two tenths off a medal.
"Every single 400m girl in Europe and I think globally should start to go 'this girl is coming and she means business.'
"We are very, very lucky to get to watch her."
A sentiment no doubt shared by the entire nation.
SEE ALSO: Israel Olatunde Became Ireland's Newest Sporting Hero On Tuesday Night
