Rhasidat Adeleke set to bypass mixed 4x400m relay to focus effort on 400m pursuit 

OPTING OUT? The Irish women's relay team, from left, Sophie Becker, Phil Healy, Rhasidat Adeleke, and Sharlene Mawdsley after finishing second in the women's 4x400m relay final during day six of the 2024 European Athletics Championships. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Rhasidat Adeleke is set to bypass this weekend’s mixed 4x400m relay at the Paris Olympics as she focuses her efforts on the 400m next week, where the 21-year-old Dubliner has a huge medal chance.

Adeleke helped the Irish mixed 4x400m team to qualify for the Olympics at the World Relays in the Bahamas in May, teaming up with Cillín Greene, Thomas Barr and Sharlene Mawdsley to smash the national record with 3:11.53 to win bronze, Adeleke splitting a blazing 48.45 seconds.

At the European Championships in Rome in June, the 21-year-old Dubliner ran another superb leg as Ireland swept to gold in the mixed relay, smashing the national record with 3:09.92. 

Two days later, Adeleke lined up for the individual 400m semi-finals and clocked 50.54, noting her legs felt “a bit heavy” from the exertion in the relay final. 

She went on to run a national record of 49.07 for silver in the final but was less than a tenth of a second away from gold, won by Natalia Kaczmarek, who had not lined out for the Polish mixed relay team three days earlier.

When asked about Adeleke's availability, Paul McNamara, High Performance Director with Athletics Ireland, said: "As it stands, we won’t be making any team announcement in advance of final relay declarations. 

"This position was discussed and agreed with athletes, coaches and management, as many nations do not announce in advance."

In Friday evening’s heats of the mixed 4x400m relay, the Irish will be led off by Chris O’Donnell who will hand over to Sophie Becker, with Thomas Barr next up and Sharlene Mawdsley in her familiar role on the anchor leg. 

Ireland will take on the Netherlands, Great Britain and Dominican Republic in their heat, among others, with the top three set to advance to Saturday’s final and two overall time qualifiers.

It's understood that even if Ireland progress to the final – something the team has done at every global championships since 2021 – Adeleke is not expected to take part, with her focus on the 400m. 

The margins that separate the top four in the individual event could be fine. 

Adeleke is the third quickest in the field this year behind Kaczmarek and Jamaica’s Nickisha Pryce, with world champion Marileidy Paulino having a season’s best of 49.20 but coming in unbeaten.

The mixed 4x400m relay, first introduced at World Championship level in 2019, has presented a tricky dilemma for athletes in the years since given it’s held at the start of the championship programme, with most medal contenders in the individual 400m tending to bypass it as a result.

None of the 400m medallists in either the men’s or women’s 400m at last year’s World Championships in Budapest ran the mixed relay ahead of the individual event, even though five of the six medallists had qualified teams.

Adeleke is set to open her Olympic campaign in the heats of the women’s 400m next Monday, with the semi-finals on Wednesday and the final on Friday. 

Given the heats of the women’s 4x400m will be held next Friday morning, Adeleke will be unavailable for that if she reaches the 400m final, though she would undoubtedly be drafted in for the final if the Irish quartet can qualify without her.