Well, a medal was not to be for Rhasidat, as she finished fourth in the 400m Olympic Final at the Stade de France.
The Dubliner ran a strong race but was beaten by three world class athletes in an event that is known to be extremely competitive. However, Rhasidat will take heart from being the youngest of all the main contenders so she can only get stronger as time goes on. And in ‘Coach Flo’, Edrick Floreal, she will be well positioned in future championships.
Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic won the gold medal with a time of 48.17 seconds, with Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser taking the silver at 48.53 seconds. Natalia Kaczmarek secured the bronze medal with a time of 48.98.
Adeleke’s Post Race Interview
She spoke to David Gillick of RTE after the race, “It just comes down to experience, and further down the line, I will gain that repetition and confidence going forward and I’ll know how to put it together for the perfect race.”
She added: “I didn’t come here to participate, I came here to win a medal. It didn’t happen, but hopefully in the next couple of years I’ll be able to sharpen up and use that experience to put myself on the podium.
“I wanted it today, I’ve been working for it today, but it didn’t happen today. This is life, this is sport, things aren’t always going to go your way, but it’s about how you bounce back and how you take this and make your future better.
4 x 400m Olympic Relay Final
Rhasidat then competed in the 4×400 Olympic final on Saturday for Ireland with Sophie Becker, Phil Healy and Sharlene Mawdsley. The girls put on an incredible showing, just missing out on bronze in a time of 3.19.90, which was a new Irish National Record.
We can’t wait to see what Rhasidat Adeleke does next!
