Sophie O'Sullivan joined her mother Sonia last night as one of less than 15 Irish women who have ever broken 4.10 over the 1500m distance.
The 21-year-old delivered the best performance of her young career last night in Sacramento at the NCAA Prelims West to book her place in the renowned collegiate finals in two weeks time.
Running for the University of Washington, the Ballymore Cobh A.C. member dug deep in the final fifty metres to take victory in the women's 1500m in an impressive time of 4.08.06.
4⃣:0⃣8⃣.0⃣6⃣ 🤯🤯🤯
SOPHIE, WHAT??!?!
Sophie O'Sullivan just destroyed the 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝 with an NCAA-leading time that puts her #⃣1⃣1⃣ in »NCAA HISTORY«
Oh and she's headed to Austin! 😤#GoHuskies x #NCAATF | 💻 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/iDg0k4tbm5— Washington Track & Field (@UWTrack) May 28, 2023
Sophieeee💜💜 https://t.co/qPLemXIJrn
— Rhasidat Adeleke (@rhasidatadeleke) May 28, 2023
The time moves O'Sullivan to eighth on the Irish All-Time list for the event and to eleventh on the NCAA All-Time list.
It is also a University of Washington record and sees her advance to the NCAA finals in Austin, Texas in early June.
Sophie O'Sullivan - season so far
It has been an extraordinary few weeks for O'Sullivan who has seen massive progress so far this summer. The former European U18 800m silver medallist had a personal best of 4.17.54 from last year going into this season. She has since bettered that on four occasions, running below 4.15 (4.12.19) for the first time only two weeks ago.
Her mother Sonia sits second on the Irish All-Time list as one of only two Irish women who have broken four minutes. Sonia's best of 3.58.85 came in 1995 and was only bettered by Ciara Mageean who ran 3.56.63 at a Diamond League meet in Brussels last year.
Mageean broke another Irish record on Saturday, taking back the 800m national record she had lost last year to Louise Shanahan. At the British Milers Club meet in Manchester, the 31-year-old Down woman clocked a time of 1.59.27 to finish second behind Australian Abbey Caldwell.
National record from Ciara Mageean in the 800m!pic.twitter.com/o6yg4rbaUH
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) May 27, 2023
Elsewhere in America, Rhasidat Adeleke lowered her national 400m record by a further 0.36s as she joined O'Sullivan in the NCAA finals.
Adeleke clocked a time of 49.54, which would have been good enough to take silver at the World Championships in Oregon last year and fourth at the Tokyo Olympics.
Adeleke obliterates own national 400m record ✨
Rhasidat Adeleke (Tallaght A.C.) ran a new Irish 400m record in Sacramento in the early hours of this morning.
Adeleke clocked a time of 49.54 to knock 0.36 off her previous best 🤯
Read more ➡ https://t.co/88pauvSZie pic.twitter.com/UN8RMW77tk— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) May 28, 2023
Tyrone teenager Nick Griggs broke the Irish U20 5000m record by almost twenty seconds, running 13.36.47 in Belgium, while Carlow's Adam Nolan set a new national U20 110m Hurdles record, clocking 13.89 at the Leinster Championships.
SEE ALSO: Michael Johnson Pinpoints One Improvement That Will Send Adeleke Stratospheric
