Rhasidat Adeleke has become the first Irish athlete to medal in a sprint event at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships.
Adeleke, 20, built on an outstanding start to the season by earning 400m silver at the American college indoor championships at the Convention Centre in Albuquerque, New Mexico, last night, having broken her own Irish record at the distance a fortnight ago in a time of 50.33 seconds.
Running for the University of Texas, the Tallaght AC athlete won her section of the split final in a time of 50.45, clocking an opening 200 meters of 23:07.
READ MORE: Ireland's track queen Rhasidat Adeleke: It's not my time yet to turn pro
It meant that race favourite Britton Wilson of Arkansas knew what she had to do in her section and she ran a NCAA record 49.48 race to beat Florida's Talitha Diggs. Wilson recorded the second fastest indoor time in history, with only Femke Bol's world indoor record of 49.26 faster.
This is Adeleke's first full season as a 400m competitor and, in the run up to the NCAAs, she said she was excited about the progress she is making.
"I’m still new to the event, there’s a lot of improvements to be made," said Adeleke, who will also compete in the NCAAs 4x400m relay.
Brian Fay (Washington) was also in action at the NCAA D1 finals, finishing 8th in the mile (4:05.07) and 15th in the 3000m (8:17.60).
Stephanie Cotter claimed both the Mile (4:49:86) and 3000m (9:06:03PB) NCAA II titles for Adams State, adding to her growing list of NCAA titles.
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