Paris 2024: 'She was like a cheetah' - RTÉ panel impressed by Rhasidat Adeleke 400m heat

Rhasidat Adeleke ticked all the boxes as she comfortably qualified for the semi-finals of the 400m, said the RTÉ Sport panel.

The Dubliner got off to a fast start and came home in first place in heat six, easing up in the final 50 metres, in a time of 50.09 at the Stade de France in Paris on Monday morning.

"She delivered in what she's meant to do in the first round," said Rob Heffernan, a bronze medallist race walker from London 2012.

"She needs to come through it, seamless, she’s a class apart.

"She’s all the boxes ticked up to this point so it’s not going to be a surprise that she’s this strong in the 400.

"She actually went out really strong because the American girl [Alexis Holmes] has still run 49.7 [previously] so she’s a class athlete.

"Rhasidat went out and buried whatever doubt she had early in the race.

"She was like a cheetah the way she was looking around."

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Three-time Olympian Derval O’Rourke was also impressed with the 21-year-old's performance.

She said: "The game plan to me looks like she went through the first 200 almost at a race pace, practicing that race pace, that judgement and then once she hit 150 to go, it’s just about being efficient, starting to just cruise it down, really relaxed in the last 100.

"Even the wherewithal to look around...she 21, she’s going into this with a chance of a medal but she’s smart enough to know how deep this field is. She didn’t put a foot wrong and made it look easy."

Meanwhile, co-commentator Dave Mathews spotted a slight