IRISH sprint queen Phil Healy showed, again, that she is a class act on and off the track after her 200m Irish record was broken recently.
Teen sensation Rhasidat Adeleke (18) shaved three hundredths of a second off Healy’s national 200-metre record of 22.99 – set by the Ballineen bullet in July 2018 – when she ran 22.96 at the Big 12 Conference championships in Manhattan, Kansas.
Adeleke and Healy are now the only two Irish women to break 23 seconds for 200 metres.
The rising Dublin sprint star is also closing in on Healy’s 100-metre Irish record of 11.28 after Adeleke clocked 11.31 at the same meet recently – and that time saw her break Irish U20 and U23 records. She is now second in the all-time Irish women’s 100m list, just behind Healy.
Reacting to Adeleke’s record-breaking performance, Healy tweeted: ‘Massive congrats, Rhasidat! Insane run and unreal performances across all distances to date. No doubt there (are) plenty more to come.’
It was a classy reaction from the West Cork woman who has spearheaded the rise of Irish women’s sprinting in recent seasons – and this competition will inspire Healy to bigger and better things.
Her coach, Wexford man Shane McCormack, tweeted: ‘As Phil has always said her records are there to be broken and to raise the bar. The extremely talented Rhasidat has joined her in the sub-23 club, helping drive women’s sprinting in Ireland to greater heights by breaking her 200m national record. Well done, Rhasidat.’
Healy is gearing up for the summer of her life as she closes in on the Olympic Games in Tokyo. After helping the Ireland mixed 4x400m relay team qualify for the Games, she’s in a strong position to qualify in her favoured 200 metres, while the Bandon AC star is also targeting the 400 metres, too.
