Rhasidat Adeleke will not compete at this weekend’s National Track and Field Championships in Santry as “she continues to focus on recovery following recent race exertions.”
Adeleke wasn’t listed among any of the sprint events after entries closed on Tuesday night, and Athletics Ireland confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that she was bypassing the championships due to her race schedule over the last few weeks.
The 22-year-old provided one of the highlights of last year’s championships when she claimed the last Irish sprint record not already belonging to her, obliterating the 100m mark in 11.13 seconds.
“I think that was the most special, not even the national record, but the appreciation from everyone who was cheering my name,” Adeleke said afterwards.
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At the London Diamond League meeting on July 19th, she moved down to 200m and finished fourth in a season best of 22.52 seconds, though still short of her 22.34 Irish record which she ran in 2023.
“I was working my way back, but I’ll take it,” Adeleke said after that race, “just making sure I can stay healthy and stay motivated and disciplined and just continue on the road to Tokyo (World Championships).
“It is about a month and a half away so just trying to make sure our eyes are focused on that, even though there’s so many other things going on.”
Earlier this month, Adeleke was also a late withdrawal from the 400m at the Monaco Diamond League, where she won last year in 49.17 seconds. This summer she’s been well short of breaking 50 seconds in her three 400m Diamond League appearances so far.
No exact reason was given for Adeleke’s decision to bypass Monaco. Adeleke’s opening Diamond League appearances in the 400m in June, in Oslo and then Stockholm, were also below par. She faded to sixth in the homestretch in Stockholm, running 50.48, having finished fourth in 50.42 in Oslo three nights before. She then ran 51.33 to finish fourth in Eugene.
From the outset of this particularly long season, Adeleke has been talking about timing things differently. It is unclear where she will race next, with the Tokyo World Championships starting on September 13th.
Several other leading Irish athletes are confirmed for this weekend, including World Indoor silver medallist in the pentathlon Kate O’Connor (javelin/shot put/long jump), Sarah Lavin (100m hurdles/100m/ 200m), Sharlene Mawdsley (200m/400m), Mark English (400m/800m), Sarah Healy (800m), Sophie Becker (400m), and Phil Healy (400m).
