Rhasidat Adeleke to miss National Track and Field Championships to 'continue recovery'
A question to Adeleke's management team on Monday about the specific reason for her absence was not answered, with Athletics Ireland stating she was 'disappointed not to be defending her national 100m title this weekend.'
Last year, she proved the star attraction at Morton Stadium, with several thousand fans watching her power to victory in an Irish 100m record of 11.13. However, she hasn't been at the same level yet this year. The quickest of her three 400m outings is the 50.42 she ran in Oslo last month, which puts her 25th on the top lists for 2025 and is well down on the Irish record of 49.07 that she ran in last year's European final.
Adeleke was back in Dublin last week, appearing at a Run Club event at DCU for one of her sponsors. It's not unusual for star names to skip nationals while preparing for major championships, with some A-list athletes usually absent each year. However, athletes require dispensation from selectors to do so.
Athletics Ireland's selection policy for September's World Championships in Tokyo states that dispensation requests 'will ONLY be granted for medical reasons and/or exceptional circumstances', adding that 'in the case of genuine illness or injury; all medical claims will be verified by AAI's medical team.'
It states that dispensation approval is at the 'sole discretion of the selectors and will only be granted to athletes in exceptional circumstances.' A slew of other star names will be in action in Santry, with Kate O'Connor, Mark English, Sarah Lavin, Sharlene Mawdsley, Sarah Healy, Sophie Becker, Phil Healy, Andrew Coscoran and Sophie O'Sullivan among the Olympians on the entry lists.
Adeleke bypassed the nationals in 2023 when she was undergoing treatment for a niggle and went on to finish fourth in the world 400m final in Budapest. In 2022, she won the national 100m title in 11.68 while in 2021, she won gold in the 100m and silver over 200m. Her most recent competitive outing was at the London Diamond League on 19 July, where she ran a season's best to finish fourth in the 200m in 22.52.
Both days of action at the nationals will be streamed on the Athletics Ireland YouTube Channel, with live coverage on RTÉ Two from 5-7.30pm on Sunday. Day tickets cost €15 with a special two-day ticket available for €25, while U-16s go free.
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