Rhasidat Adeleke has advanced to the final of the 400m at the European Athletics Championships in Munich after an impressive semi-final performance today.
Adeleke qualified as one of the two fastest non-automatic qualifiers, finishing third in her race in 51.08s.
Rhasidat Adeleke is through to the 400m final!!🙌🇮🇪
Another huge milestone on the back of her 9th place finish at the World Championships last month🤩
⏱️ 51.08(q)
⏰400m Final Wednesday 17th at 9.02pm (Irish time)
Result: https://t.co/vmY1gxIIhQ#Munich2022 #BackToTheRoofs pic.twitter.com/LoNvTj7rTI— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) August 16, 2022
The talented 19-year-old ran strongly throughout, perhaps fading slightly in the final 50m as Belgium's Cynthia Bolingo passed her but nonetheless done enough to secure a final place.
The race was won by Dutch athlete Femke Bol who is looking to win both the 400m and 400m Hurdles at the championships.
Rhasidat Adeleke's 400m final will take place at 9:02pm Irish time on Wednesday night, and will take off from lane one.
Rhasidat Adeleke has had a superb season
Adeleke has had a fantastic season running national records in the 60m, 200m, 300m, and 400m. The Tallaght AC athlete who is currently based in the US where she studies at Texas University also made the semi-finals at the World Championships and anchored the Mixed 4x400m team to the world final.
Remarkably, this morning's race was Adeleke's 48th of the season and her 49th will be her last and arguably biggest one when she takes to the track just after 9pm tomorrow night for the final.
Adeleke has even revealed that she cancelled her scheduled holiday to run in Munich. It was thought due to the duration of her season that she would skip the championships.
"I was trying to conserve energy, I thought I was comfortable in second and I got caught on the line, but luckily I'm in the final," says Adeleke, who cancelled her holiday in Mexico to come to Munich.
"There's always pressure, I put pressure on myself. I'm really ambitious." pic.twitter.com/EAAI0tUcV1— Cathal Dennehy (@Cathal_Dennehy) August 16, 2022
Earlier, Chris O'Donnell failed to progress to the final of the men's 400m. The Sligo man finished fifth in his semi-final clocking 45.73s, down on his PB of 45.26s which he set in June.
O'Donnell had been hoping to make a final and challenge for a medal. Matthew Hudson-Smith (Great Britain) won the race in a sub 45s time and will be the favourite to take gold.
The morning got off to a mixed start from an Irish perspective. Ciara Mageean qualified for the final of the women's 1500m with ease, however Sarah Healy was way off the pace in her semi-final and failed to advance.
Brendan Boyce from Donegal put in another strong championship performance to finish 10th in the 35km Walk.
SEE ALSO: Every Irish Medallist At The European Athletics Championships
