"It felt so good. It was so fun. Am I at Morton Stadium right now?" Rhasidat Adeleke enjoyed winning her 400m heat in front of a big Irish crowd in Paris
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RHASIDAT ADELEKE IS enjoying the support from Irish fans in Paris after dominating her 400 metre heat in the Olympic Games this morning and securing a place in Wednesday’s semi-final.

The Dublin-born runner came first in her heat this morning, cruising over the line in what seemed second nature to her. Speaking after qualifying for the Olympic semi-final, Adeleke said she is appreciating the support from irish fans in Paris.

“I was like, ‘Am I at Morton Stadium right now?’,” she told RTÉ Sport when asked how the reception felt.

“It was amazing. There’s so many Irish flags. When I got into my blocks I said, ‘Let’s not just do this for me, let’s do it for them. There’s so many people here supporting [me], let’s give them my all.”

Asked on her reaction to young children donning her trademark hairbow, she said that it was a reminder of the importance of setting a good example for the next generation of athletes and citizens.

“I’m a very fond believer that it’s very important to be that person for people, because there were people who I looked up to and I would copy them growing up.”

The Tallaght star put a massive distance between herself and her competitors for the first 300 metres, before having a couple of glances at the clock and over her shoulder and pulling up at the very end.

Her time was 50.09, and while her Personal Best is 49.06, it would seem certain she could have blown that apart as she left Alexis Holmes and Junelle Bromfield in her wake after a false start threatened her composure. 

Adeleke later said that her stellar performance was down to a plan that worked – detailing how her coaches had told her to keep the other runners in contention for the first 200 metres before breaking off for the final half.

“I feel like I had done that really well for the last 100 [meters],” she said. “It felt really good,” she added.

Today was the first time that Adeleke has ran at the Olympics so far, as the Texas Tech graduate sat out of the mixed relay event earlier in the week. She said that she was raring to go and excited that her games are now underway.

“It’s been so fun. I’ve seen all my teammates compete and they’ve been doing phenomenally and that makes me want to follow in their footsteps. I’m so excited to be here.”