Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke celebrates after the race
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Tom Maher
Rhasidat Adeleke (Tallaght A.C.) has obliterated her own Irish 400m record at the NCAA Division 1 Prelims West in Sacramento, California in the early hours of this morning.
Competing for a place in next month’s NCAA Finals in Austin, Adeleke produced a scintillating quarter-final performance to advance with ease, winning her race in an extraordinary time of 49.54.
The University of Texas student knocked 0.36 off her previous national record in the process, which she had set in mid-April when she ran 49.90 at the Tom Jones Invitational in Florida.
Her latest record is another spectacular step forward in the 20-year-old’s remarkable young career as she moves into the top fifty on the world all-time list for the event, now sitting in 45th.
The time is also the third fastest in the world so far this year and would have been good enough for silver at the last World Championships in Oregon in July 2022 and fourth in the Tokyo Olympic final the year previous.
Britton Wilson (Arkansas) advances to the finals as the only woman faster than Adeleke. The NCAA record holder won her quarter-final in a time of 49.51.
Adeleke will have her eyes firmly set on another individual NCAA medal in two weeks’ time after winning silver at the Indoor Championships in back in February.
Women’s 1500M Final
Ireland’s Ciara Mageean celebrates after finishing 2nd
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Ciara Mageean (City of Lisburn A.C.) produced the performance of her life over 800m to break Louise Shanahan’s national record at the British Milers Club meet in Manchester this evening (May 27th).
The Portaferry native crossed the line in 1.59.27 to knock 0.15s off the record Shanahan had set in Belfast in May 2022.
Mageean finished second this evening in a highly competitive race behind Australia’s Abbey Caldwell who took victory in 1.58.92.
The result marks the first time two female athletes have broken two minutes for 800m at a British Milers Club meet.
Mageean now holds the national records over 800m and 1500m, having ran 3.56.63 over the metric mile last September obliterating Sonia O’Sullivan’s record that had lasted for 27 years in the process.
The 31-year-old won European and Commonwealth silver medals this year and will be hoping for many big performances as the summer progresses as she builds towards the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August.