Rhasidat Adeleke added to her fast growing legacy in the world of athletics with a stunning showing to claim silver in the women's 400m final at the European Athletics Championships on Monday.
The Tallaght athlete came agonisingly close to winning the gold medal against Europe's elite, setting a new PB and a national record with a time of 49.07 seconds.
Race winner Natalia Kaczmarek’ surged late to pip Adeleke with a time of 48.98 seconds in what was a thrilling finish in Rome.
Lieke Klaver, one of the world's top 400m talents had to settle for third place, with Kaczmarek and Adeleke in a class of their own.
🥈SILVER for Rhasidat Adeleke with a PB of 49.07) in the women’s 400m final with Sharlene Mawdsley eighth ☘️ #Roma2024
📺 Watch on @RTE2 & @RTEplayer pic.twitter.com/nbep3svaED— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) June 10, 2024
Irish Olympic medalist Rob Heffernan stressed in the RTE studio just how unlucky Adeleke was not to claim the top prize given her stunning showing and the statistics have backed that up.
Rhasidat Adeleke broke incredible record in 400 final
International sports consultant Pierce O'Callaghan gave further context to just how good Adeleke was, revealing that both she and the race winner set the fastest 400m times by any European women this century.
Taking to Twitter, he explained that Adeleke was undone by a historic performance from her Polish counterpart, with both women outperforming all the Europeans that have come before them since the 1996 Olympics.
Some more context on Rhasidat Adeleke's performance," he wrote.
"Natalia Kaczmarek’s 48.98 and Rhasidat Adeleke’s 49.07 are the fastest times by European women this century and the fastest since Marie-Jose Perec’s 48.25 in the 1996 Olympic final."
Some more context on @rhasidatadeleke performance..
Natalia Kaczmarek’s 48.98 and Rhasidat Adeleke’s 49.07 are the fastest times by European women this century and the fastest since Marie-Jose Perec’s 48.25 in the 1996 Olympic final https://t.co/yv8UTQSAqL— Pierce O'Callaghan (@Pierceathletics) June 10, 2024
Insane stuff from both.
While Kaczmarek is very much in her prime at 26, Adeleke was competing in her first 400m race this season at the age of just 21.
A jovial Adeleke shared her admiration for her mother following her silver medal win, stressing the efforts she went to in order for her to race through the ranks as she grew up.
It has been a brilliant week for Ireland at the event, kickstarted by Adeleke and her teammates' efforts in winning gold in the 400m mixed relay.
The quartet - which also featured Sharlene Mawdsley, Thomas Barr and Chris O'Donnell - put in a record-breaking display to finish first in thrilling style in the Italian capital.
Ciara Mageean then followed it up with a long-awaited gold medal in the 1500m on Sunday night, after a patient performance.
The Portaferry native thanked her camogie upbringing as she refused to be boxed in and surged clear late to add gold to her silver and bronze medal wins of the past.
Mawdsley will be back in action in the women's 400m relay on Tuesday night as she looks to add more gold to her collection at the competition.
