Rhasidat Adeleke appears set to focus on the individual 400 metres when the Olympic track and field programme gets under way inside the Stade de France on Friday.
The heat draws for Friday’s opening schedule were announced on Wednesday evening, including the mixed 4x400m relay, and while Athletics Ireland have yet to declare the possible inclusion of Adeleke, it’s already certain she won’t be contesting those heats.
The heats are set for 7.10pm (Irish time), with the final then set for the Saturday night (8.55pm).
Ireland were drawn in heat two against Italy, Great Britain, the revered Dutch team, Germany, the Dominican Republic, who won silver in Tokyo, and also Nigeria and Ukraine. The first three in each heat qualify automatically for the final, plus the two fastest losers, and that’s certainly not beyond the Irish quartet.
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Ireland are ranked third fastest behind the Dutch and the Dominicans with their Irish record of 3:09.92 set when winning the gold medal in Rome in June, when Adeleke ran the second leg.
Heat one, however, would appear to be the marginally more difficult as it contains world champions USA and defending Olympic champions Poland, and also France, who will be roared on by the home crowd inside the Stade de France.
One relay position can be switched between the heat and final (and a second on a medical condition), and while Athletics Ireland will have to submit their possible six runners by Thursday evening, 24 hours before the heats start, it is understood at this point that Adeleke will be putting all her focus on the individual 400m for now.
There is still every chance she will race the women’s 4x400m on the following weekend, if Ireland can qualify without her.
When winning the mixed relay gold medal in Rome, the Irish quartet of Chris O’Donnell, Adeleke, Thomas Barr and Mawdsley improved their national record to 3:09.92. The gold medal in this event in the Tokyo Olympics was won by Poland in 3:09.87, where Ireland did make the final and finished in eighth.
Rome, however, was a straight final, while Adeleke also got a bye from running the 400m heats.
The 21-year-old from Dublin already faces a challenging schedule here: the three rounds of the women’s 400m are then set for the following Monday (heats, 12.50pm), Wednesday (semi-finals, 8.45pm) and then the final on Friday (8.0pm).
Adeleke’s Irish record of 49.07 seconds from Rome is the third fastest time in the world this year among the 400m entries, although two other women – 2023 world champion Marileidy Paulino from the Dominican Republic has run 48.76, and 2019 world champion Salwa Eid Naser from Bahrain has run 48.14 – are also significantly faster.
At the last Diamond League meeting in London before Paris, 23-year-old Nickisha Pryce from Jamaica won in a new national record of 48.57 seconds, the fastest time in the world this year, ahead of Poland’s European champion Natalia Kaczmarek, who improved her national record to 48.90 seconds.
The USA will start the mixed relay as favourites again in Paris, but with Femke Bol prioritising the individual 400m hurdles, the Dutch are evidently even more beatable.
Sophie Becker will likely take the place of Adeleke, and is also qualified in the individual 400m, as has Mawdsley. Both have already committed to the mixed relay.
“Yeah absolutely,” said Becker, also part of the women’s 4x400m. “Who knows when will I ever get this opportunity again to potentially run three different events at the Olympics. Whatever I’m needed for, I will absolutely.”
The opening track and field schedule on Friday morning includes three 1,500m heats for the men. Cathal Doyle goes in heat one along with the likes of Josh Kerr, Britain’s world champion. Luke McCann is in heat two with Timothy Cheruiyot, the 2019 world champion from Kenya. Andrew Coscoran goes in heat three with Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the defending champion from Norway.
Only the top six advance, all others going into the new repechage round, offering them another shot at qualifying for the semi-finals, but with an extra race in their legs.
