Of course DNA is real BUT Ireland is a country and Irish is a nationality.
By every metric imaginable, Adeleke IS Irish.
Nearly true.
But not her DNA. Which is real. Why deny this?
He is 100% correct.
You are 100% incorrect.
It doesn't matter what her DNA makeup is. It doesn't factor into the equation in any way.
Not for an Bunreacht na hÉirean
Not for World Athletics.
Her Genetic makeup has helped her become a world class 400m runner just as mine has limited me (among many other limitations) to being a hobby jogger. The fact of the matter is it does not matter to our shared Irishness.
Tell me how many of team USA do you rule out based on their DNA?
How many of British or French or Dutch teams would you exclude based on DNA?
Its a nonsense. you don't get to dictate whether she is Irish. You may believe people you know to be Irish because their great great grandparents left here in the 1840s and made a wonderful life for themselves in the great country that is the USA. Those people can be rightly proud if their heritage and what they have achieved. we are proud of them too. But saying they are more of a claim to be Irish than Rashidat Adeleke is nonsense and is simply wrong.
She certainly has long legs....but a surprisingly short stride for someone of that build & stature, especially compared to similar athletes like Shanaue Miller-Uibo & Femke Bol, who are all around the same height & build.
This is somethin Adeleke can work on to improve even further.
Ireland have another 400m runner who did quite well these championships with 2 relay medals and an individual final - Sharlene Mawdsley.
As names go, "Mawdsley" is about as Irish as "Adeleke". Any Irish person hearing the name would assume it to be not only English, but upper class English (i.e. the people who oppressed us for 800 years).
I haven't seen a single person online even hint that Sharlene is not really Irish. The reason is obvious, her skin isn't black.
As to the original question, it seems to me that the commentator began his sentence about long legs without knowing how he was going to finish it and, once he had, "long Irish legs" was a perfectly fine way to do so.
This post was edited 23 seconds after it was posted.
It doesn't matter what her DNA makeup is. It doesn't factor into the equation in any way.
Not for an Bunreacht na hÉirean
Not for World Athletics.
Her Genetic makeup has helped her become a world class 400m runner just as mine has limited me (among many other limitations) to being a hobby jogger. The fact of the matter is it does not matter to our shared Irishness.
Tell me how many of team USA do you rule out based on their DNA?
How many of British or French or Dutch teams would you exclude based on DNA?
Its a nonsense. you don't get to dictate whether she is Irish. You may believe people you know to be Irish because their great great grandparents left here in the 1840s and made a wonderful life for themselves in the great country that is the USA. Those people can be rightly proud if their heritage and what they have achieved. we are proud of them too. But saying they are more of a claim to be Irish than Rashidat Adeleke is nonsense and is simply wrong.
DNA doesn't factor into what equation?
Sure she's Irish, born and raised.
But to deny she is Nigerian by her genetics is nuts.
Ireland have another 400m runner who did quite well these championships with 2 relay medals and an individual final - Sharlene Mawdsley.
As names go, "Mawdsley" is about as Irish as "Adeleke". Any Irish person hearing the name would assume it to be not only English, but upper class English (i.e. the people who oppressed us for 800 years).
I haven't seen a single person online even hint that Sharlene is not really Irish. The reason is obvious, her skin isn't black.
As to the original question, it seems to me that the commentator began his sentence about long legs without knowing how he was going to finish it and, once he had, "long Irish legs" was a perfectly fine way to do so.
Don't see anyone saying Adeleke is not Irish.
Just a lot of people refusing to admit her name is Nigerian and is her DNA
Ireland have another 400m runner who did quite well these championships with 2 relay medals and an individual final - Sharlene Mawdsley.
As names go, "Mawdsley" is about as Irish as "Adeleke". Any Irish person hearing the name would assume it to be not only English, but upper class English (i.e. the people who oppressed us for 800 years).
I haven't seen a single person online even hint that Sharlene is not really Irish. The reason is obvious, her skin isn't black.
As to the original question, it seems to me that the commentator began his sentence about long legs without knowing how he was going to finish it and, once he had, "long Irish legs" was a perfectly fine way to do so.
Don't see anyone saying Adeleke is not Irish.
Just a lot of people refusing to admit her name is Nigerian and is her DNA
What a cowardly response.
If she is Irish and there is no equivocation on this, she is Irish.
What does is matter what her name is?
What does it matter that she got her genetics from her parents who were born in a different country?
The only correct answer is that those things do not matter.
Why do you keep bringing up her DNA?
I believe that you keep doing so because you somehow believe she is not Irish and i am telling you if you believe that you are wrong.
This post was edited 5 minutes after it was posted.
Clearly she has recent African ancestry (we all have African ancestry...) & presumably a large % (all?) of her DNA will show that, but her nationality is Irish.
Thus I don't understand what the debate is: Her ethnic background is not Irish. Period. She was born and raised in Ireland, & therefore competes for Ireland, period. Both are true.
As for Mawdsley, what's in a name? Apparently it has its roots in Lancashire, just over the sea from the island of Ireland. But, visually, it's much harder to distinguish Irish genetics from English & no doubt she will have a combination of both. Her Irish genetics might contain both Gaelic/Celtic DNA and Ulster Protestant/Scots DNA. She may have Irish 'traveler' DNA, which is different to Irish 'settled' DNA (emerging as a distinct group generations ago, apparently) There's certainly no obvious recent African DNA there.
Back to Adeleke's legs. In her windy 10.84, which should have encouraged & helped a longer stride, she took 46.5 strides, with a mean stride length of around 2.15m. Compare this to various other women: for example, in London 2017, Bowie's mean stride length was 2.26, Ta Lous was 2.20 and Schippers was 2.30. The latter was the nearest to Adeleke's height at 1.79 (Adeleke in 1.83)
If we look at similar height women for whom I have stats, Marie Jose Pérec (1.80m tall) & Grace Jackson (1.83m tall) did just over 42 steps and had stride lengths just over 2.30.
So Adeleke can make gains by improving her stride length
My conclusion is this. This woman hasn’t said anything racist or negative about white people or Ireland. She’s not ungrateful. She’s not hateful or entitled. So while obviously , yes she’s not a native Irish , she’s represented ting her country that she has lived the majority of her life or was even born in. Regarding that, she’s Irish
an Irish national born and raised in Ireland. surely that makes all of her, including her legs, Irish. if not then when do we start referring to her family as Irish? 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th generation? or does it depend on the ethnic heritage of who they partner with? and who decides this anyway?