Ireland U20 track star Rhasidat Adeleke won gold in Tallinn, Estonia in the 100m at the European U20 Championships on Friday.
The 18-year-old ran an exceptional 11.34 in the final to take home gold, finishing ahead of Serbia’s Ivana Ilic and Great Britain’s Joy Eze, who ran 11.42 and 11.44 respectively.
It is the youngster’s first European gold medal at that level in the 100m event but she has had prior success.
The Tallaght AC athlete became the senior national champion in the event earlier this year and is currently the holder of the Irish U20 record for the women’s 100m.
There it is, the biggest win of @rhasidatadeleke's career – European U20 100m gold in 11.34 (+1.4) for the 18-year-old Tallaght star, and she made it look easy. pic.twitter.com/0orWw69RyT
— Cathal Dennehy (@Cathal_Dennehy) July 16, 2021
Adeleke impressed on Thursday, making her way to the final via two strong runs, taking the top spot in her heat with a time of 11.37.
The time made her the fastest qualifier in all six heats and foreshadowed the success that was to come for the athlete.
The sprinter later went second-fast overall in the semi-final stage and first in her semi with 11.38.
The Dubliner took the lead early on in the final and never let it go in a strong final run as she delivered on the promise of Thursday.
She joins Gina Akpe-Moses on the list of Irish women to win gold representing the country in the women’s 100m event at the European U20 Championships.
Akpe-Moses was the champion in the event in 2017, where she crossed the line ahead of everyone else in a time of 11.71 in Grosseto.
Adeleke returned to action soon after with another impressive run, this time in the 200m heats.
The sprinter ran her heat in 23.20, claiming the best time of anyone in the heats by .23 and will progress to the semi-finals tomorrow.
If successful, a spot in another final this weekend awaits the exciting Irish talent on Sunday at 3:55 pm.
You can watch Rhasidat Adeleke and other Ireland U20 athletes at the 2021 European U20 Championships here.
