It seems there are no limits to the talents of Irish sprinter Rhasidat Adeleke.
Once again the Tallaght native rewrote the record books last night in America.
Adeleke was competing at the Tom Jones Memorial meeting in Florida, where she ran a sensational new Irish 200m record of 22.34s aided by a 1.8m/s tailwind, just within the allowable limit of 2m/s.
Adeleke's previous record of 22.52s was set in Albuquerque back in January at altitude and indoors. The previous outdoor record of 22.59s also had her name beside it, set in April of last year.
The race was won by Adeleke's University of Texas teammate Julien Alfred of St. Lucia, who clocked the fastest time in the world so far this year - 21.91s.
Don’t blink, you’ll miss Julien go 21.91 in her season opener 🤘 pic.twitter.com/XPdxopA9Vh
— Texas T&F/XC (@TexasTFXC) April 14, 2023
Adeleke's time puts her fifth on the world list for 2023, a remarkable feat considering the 200m isn't even her strongest event.
Another huge Irish record for @rhasidatadeleke who smashes her own 200m mark with a 22.34 (+1.8) in Florida.
Previous record was the 22.52 she ran indoors at altitude. pic.twitter.com/3wK59t6W9O— Cathal Dennehy (@Cathal_Dennehy) April 14, 2023
If this is confirmed ‘legal’ this is a huge stride (pardon pun) for @rhasidatadeleke. With this kind of speed & her first full winter training for 400m, her cruising speed through 200 in a one lap race points towards sub 50 outdoors. That’s elite world class & it’s only mid April https://t.co/KGk62jjFo7
— Greg Allen (@gregallenRTE) April 14, 2023
The 20-year-old is now 0.65 of a second quicker than any other Irish woman over the distance ever.
Bandon sprinter Phil Healy is the only other Irish athlete to have broken 23s, when she ran 22.99s to set what was then a national record at the Cork City Sports in 2018.
Adeleke returns to the track tonight (Saturday) where she will run in the 400m and 4x400m relay.
Over 400m she is expected to go head-to-head with American Britton Wilson who beat her to gold at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March.
Adeleke has a best of 50.33s for the event and having recently clocked a relay split of 49.2s, that national record could also be on borrowed time.
Her 400m race is expected to get underway at around 8pm Irish time, with the relay preceeding that.
Adeleke's outdoor season is only getting going, with last night's race being her individual opener. It looks set to be an exciting few days, weeks and months ahead.
SEE ALSO: The Big Takeaways From Rhasidat Adeleke's Astonishing Weekend In Texas
