Rhasidat Adeleke targets European qualifier over 200m at nationals

At the National Championships on Saturday, Adeleke could square off against Lauren Roy and Sharlene Mawdsley for the 200m title

Even if Rhasidat Adeleke does not qualify for the European Championships in the 200m, she could still be part of the Irish 4x400m relay team for next month's event in Birmingham. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Rhasidat Adeleke will take her final shot at qualification for the European Championships over 200m at the nationals in Santry this weekend, the 23-year-old Dubliner needing to run 22.85 or faster to book her place at next month’s event in Birmingham.

Adeleke narrowly missed the automatic qualifying standard in April, clocking 22.86 for 200m in her season opener in Texas, but she has struggled to reproduce the same form since. In an Instagram post on Sunday, she revealed that she strained her hamstring early in the season.

“It’s been a rocky last couple of weeks, so this is my first full week of regular training,” she said in the video, which was recorded in late June ahead of her 400m opener at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene. “I am a little bit nervous but I just have to start, get going and see where I’m at.” Adeleke finished ninth in that race in 52.26, well down on her Irish record of 49.07 and the automatic European qualifying standard of 51.20.

“It’s just weird because I was in a good place in fall training, I knew it was an upwards trajectory, probably in the best shape or looking towards being in the best shape I’ve ever been in,” she said. “There were different points this season that I was like, ‘oh, I’m hot’, and then I strained my freaking hamstring and it’s back down here.

“It’s like I take 10 steps forward and 15 steps back. Now I just don’t know. I just don’t want to be embarrassed.” 

Adeleke withdrew from a planned 400m race at the Monaco Diamond League but she returned to action over 200m in Lucerne last Thursday, clocking 23.06 into a slight headwind on a wet night in the Swiss city, finishing fourth. She had been entered for a 400m in Heusden, Belgium last Saturday but her name was withdrawn from the start lists the day before.

With entries for the nationals closing on Sunday night, Adeleke has opted to contest only the 200m, with both the heats and final on Saturday afternoon. She could still be part of the Irish team in Birmingham even if she doesn’t qualify individually given Ireland will have a team in the women’s 4x400m, though they look set to fall short of a place in the mixed 4x400m – currently ranked ninth with only eight teams qualifying.

In Santry on Saturday, Adeleke could square off against Lauren Roy and Sharlene Mawdsley for the national 200m title. Both Roy and Mawdsley have been in the form of their lives this season, with Mawdsley lowering her 400m best to 50.06 and setting a 200m PB of 23.09 in May, while Roy clocked 22.83 at the NCAA Regionals in Arkansas, the fastest time this year by an Irishwoman.

While Roy was controversially omitted from the Northern Ireland team for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, she’s already qualified for the Europeans over 200m and will likely also be eligible for the 100m, given her current world ranking.

Mawdsley is qualified for Birmingham in the 400m but does not have a sufficient world ranking to contest the 200m. The Tipperary sprinter is entered for both events at the nationals.

Meanwhile the men’s 800m on Sunday should serve up a riveting duel between Mark English and Cian McPhillips, with both men entering their specialist event. They have raced four times, with English winning three of them, most recently at the London Diamond League last Saturday where the Donegal man smashed his 800m personal best, finishing second in 1:42.97 with McPhillips seventh in 1:43.97.

McPhillips holds the Irish record at 1:42.15, which he ran to finish fourth in last year’s world final, but the Longford athlete faced setbacks earlier this year, calling a halt to his indoor season due to a dental issue that required surgery and subsequently dealing with a knee injury.

However, his run in London marked a notable step forward and McPhillips will chase his first national senior outdoor title on Sunday to add to his indoor victory from 2024. English is seeking his 20th national 800m title, having won 10 outdoors and nine indoors across the last 15 years.

Sophie O’Sullivan and Sarah Healy have entries in the 800m and 1500m and both athletes are in flying form, with Healy setting a 3000m PB of 8:25.63 to finish third at the London Diamond League last weekend and O’Sullivan taking an impressive 1500m win at the Morton Games recently in 4:08.26.