Rhasidat Adeleke became the quickest Irish woman to win the 100m in the recent National Championships at Tallaght Stadium. Adeleke won gold with a timing of 11.13 seconds, and she will race in the 400m at the Olympics in Paris this summer.
According to the BBC, the Dublin runner topped Irishwoman Sarah Lavin’s previous record of 11.27 seconds for the 100 meters.
The 21-year-old told the Irish Times after the race, “I think that was the most special, not even the national record, but the appreciation from everyone who was cheering my name.”
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She added, “I think I got out okay, and I always blur out in the 100m, but that was the one record I was waiting for. And to be able to achieve it here, saving the 100m for in front of my home crowd, is just amazing.”
Adeleke shattered 52 Irish records in all age groups with her most recent victory, according to the site, which has to be a record in and of itself. She initially broke the Irish Youth 200-meter record six years ago in 2018, recording a time of 23.80 seconds.
Ever since, Adeleke has set numerous senior records in both indoor and outdoor 60-, 200-, and 400-meter events. Her 50th record was confirmed in April for the 300-meter indoor event. She also won silver in the European Championships in Rome, setting a new Irish 400-meter record of 49.07.
According to Irish News, Adeleke previously made history by defeating two World champions in 10.84 seconds: Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, who won the global 200m gold in 2019, and St Lucia’s Julien Alfred, who won the 60m in the World Indoors in Glasgow earlier this year.
As per the Irish Times, Adeleke has since traveled to Sweden for a training camp followed by Diamond League races in Monaco on July 12 and London the following week, before focusing only on the 400m in Paris.
