Elizabeth Ndudi made the leap to US college to follow in Rhasidat Adeleke's footsteps

Elizabeth Ndudi made history at last year's edition of the Under-20 Europeans, becoming the first Irish athlete to win a gold medal in a field event at the championships; her priceless reaction to winning was almost as impressive as the jump itself.

Another Irish woman who has claimed European junior gold is Rhasidat Adeleke.

Adeleke completed her European junior double in 2021, where Ireland claimed a record four golds in the championships.

A medal in the junior divisions does not guarantee future success, but Ndudi is following in the footsteps of a few familiar names in Irish athletics. Mageean, Healy and Lavin are just some that are among the current international cohort, who while haven't had linear success since junior glory, are most certainly at the peak of their powers.

Ndudi has continued her success since she leapt on to the athletics scene in 2023, breaking the senior long jump national record in her opening competition and jump of the outdoor season in April, something she says isn't typical for her.

"It was my first outdoor competition of the season, and it was also the first jump of the long jump competition. So it came as a shock. I felt it was a big jump, but I didn't know it was that big.

"My best jump has normally been my fourth or fifth, so the fact that it was my first jump I thought, 'Well, that's great start to the competition'," Ndudi told RTÉ Sport ahead of the national championships.

The jump that didn't feel that big put six-centimetres on the 14-year-old mark of Kelly Proper. Proper was a giant of Irish athletics in the 2010-era, collecting 17 national titles throughout the course of her career.

Ndudi, still only 19-years-of-age, is hoping to collect her first senior title this weekend at the National