Rhasidat Adeleke, a gifted 21-year-old sprinter from Dublin, has caught the attention of many and is one of Ireland’s most eagerly awaited Olympic debutants in history. She’s set to compete in the women’s 400m heats at the Stade de France in Paris beginning Monday at 10.55am local time, finding herself in the last round.
Having registered the year’s third-fastest 400m sprint time, Adeleke, who achieved a new Irish record of 49.07 seconds when she claimed silver at the European Championships in Rome, is keen to join the excitement of the Irish Olympic medal surge in Paris. This year’s top two times belong to Jamaica’s Nickisha Pryce, who managed 48.57 seconds in the latest Diamond League meeting in London, and Natalia Kaczmarek of Poland, who bagged gold in the European Championships with 48.90 seconds.
However, Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic, 2023 World champion, and 2019 World champion Salwa Eid Naser from Bahrain have respectively clocked 48.76 and 48.14 seconds in recent years, considerably faster times than 2024.
Adeleke, positioned in lane six, is predicted not to be threatened by anyone in her heat, except possibly for Alexis Holmes from the US, who has exceeded 50 seconds. The first three from each heat will make it directly to Wednesday night’s semi-finals (8.45pm local time), with the others facing a new repechage round on Tuesday.
It is growing increasingly apparent that to secure a medal in Paris, athletes will probably need to deliver a sub-49 second time in the finals on Friday night.
For the very first occasion, Ireland has reached the maximum individual quota of three women for the 400m race. In the first heat, Sophie Becker is all set to compete with a best time of 51.13, alongside renowned athletes such as Naser and Kendall Ellis, the winner of the US Trials in June.
Then, in the fifth heat, Sharlene Mawdsley with her best time of 50.72, which places her as the sixth fastest in that heat, is ready to face competitors like Paulino. The duo, Becker and Mawdsley, have already participated in the heats of the 4x400m mixed relay; while as anticipated, Adeleke chose not to, resolute in her belief of securing a personal medal.
Since her victory in Rome, Adeleke had just once proven herself over 400m by winning the Diamond League race in Monaco in July with an impressive time of 49.17, the second quickest in her career. Post that triumphant race, Adeleke openly expressed her ambition of securing an Olympic medal in Paris to be her “absolute” goal.
She asserted her readiness and confidence that her coach would rightly prepare her to reach her optimum form at the right moment. This coach in discussion is Edrick Floréal, famously known as Coach Flo, who has been honing Adeleke’s extraordinary talent since she joined the University of Texas in early 2021. The evident and exciting indications indicate he has done an exceptional job with her training.
One more athlete trained by Coach Flo, Julien Alfred, created an Olympic moment of her own by winning the women’s 100m at the Stade de France on a Saturday night. This was Saint Lucia’s maiden Olympic medal, establishing a historic moment for the small Caribbean island.
Last year at the World Championships, while Adeleke bagged the fourth position in the 400m, Alfred did the same in the 200m. Since then, both of them have been enjoying their time in the professional race circuits, which has saved them from the gruelling schedule of the US college system. No doubt exists that Adeleke will be in her prime form this week.
In her sprinting career, she hasn’t quite reached the pinnacle of her capabilities yet. It’s been a little over two years since she competed in her first standalone 400m race, and the old Irish record of 50.73 set by Joanne Cuddihy in 2007 was shattered by her 50.70 in May 2022.
The Paris 400m race has a significant participant missing. Shaunae Miller Uibo, a two-time reigning champion from the Bahamas, has withdrawn due to injury. This means that there will be a first-time Olympic Champion in 400m since 2012. With a silver medal from Tokyo, Paulino is fully focused on improving her standing this time.
Nicola Tuthill made her first appearance in the Olympics on Sunday morning. The 20-year-old participant from Bandon was mere four spots away from qualifying for the hammer throw final, her best throw being 69.90m. This places her ranking at the 16th spot overall.