Ireland's Rhasidat Adeleke finishes fourth in world 400m final
By After Sam Photo Rhasidat The Barnes/sportsfile In World Final Ireland Adeleke 400m Star: Of Finishing Women's Fourth Reacts
She gave it all she had, but right now, right here, at this point in her fledgling career, it just wasn’t quite enough.
There will almost certainly come a time in Rhasidat Adeleke’s career when she steps up on to a global podium, but it wasn't to be tonight. Not just yet.
Six days shy of her 21st birthday, the Tallaght sprinter finished fourth in the world 400m final in Budapest tonight, clocking 50.13, a race won by Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic in 48.76. Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek finished second in 49.57, with Sada Williams of Barbados third in 49.60.
She came up just one, agonising place shy of winning Ireland its first global outdoor sprint medal in 91 years, since Bob Tisdall claimed Olympic gold in Los Angeles in 1932.
Drawn in lane four, Adeleke knew she had to launch herself into the race, correcting the error she made in the heats and semi-final of an all-too-casual start.
She did just that, exploding from the blocks and ripping through the opening 50 metres at full pelt.
Into the back straight, she relaxed, opening up that lengthy stride and covering ground with ease.
She hit halfway firmly in contention, and then began to launch her attack, hoisting herself alongside the others in the race for the silver medal with 80 metres to go.
But then she just ran out of legs. After a long, exhausting NCAA season, this was clearly not Adeleke at her best, given the 49.20 she ran to win that title in June would have won silver here.
But the fact she’s fourth in the world, 11 months out from the Paris Olympics, while running below her best, speaks volumes about what lies ahead.
Her run caps a remarkable year in which she finished her collegiate career at the University of Texas, where she enrolled in January 2021, coming under the guidance of coach Edrick Floreal.
In her time there Adeleke has taken Irish sprinting to a place it’s never been, setting national records at 60m, 200m, 300m and 400m.
She turned professional in July, signing for Nike, and will remain based in Texas on the path to Paris next year.