Rhasidat Adeleke to return to 200m as quest for European qualification continues

RHASIDAT ADELEKE PLANS to race over 200m in Switzerland later this month as she continues to balance an injury return with securing qualification for the European Championships.

The 42 understands that Adeleke will run in the women’s 200m at the Spitzen Leichtathletik meeting in Lucerne on Thursday, 16 July, before running 400m in Belgium on 18 July. She then hopes to race in the National Athletics championships at the end of the month.

The 23-year-old is currently based in London ahead of the European Championships in Birmingham next month. The qualification window closes on Sunday, 26 July which is also the last day of the National Championships.

Adeleke holds the Irish women’s record for 200m after clocking 22.34 at a meeting in Florida in 2023, and currently has a B standard for this distance after running 22.86 in Texas earlier this year.

However, she will require a 22.85 to achieve the A standard for qualifying, while she is also yet to achieve the 400m standard.

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Adeleke, who has struggled with injuries over the past year, finished ninth in the women’s 400m at the Prefontaine Classic meeting in Eugene, Oregon last week in what was her first race over that distance in 12 months.

She clocked a time of 52.26. Her personal best is 49.07 which she ran at the 2024 European Championships in Rome to win a silver medal.

Adeleke posted a statement on her Instagram account after the disappointment in Oregon, saying the race was “beyond rough” but that she endeavoured to “keep building from here.”

The Dubliner was scheduled to run the 400m at the Monaco Diamond League this Friday but has withdrawn from that event. Her next attempt at reaching the 51.20 qualifying standard will be at the KBC Night of Athletics in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium on Saturday, 18 July.

The Irish National Athletics championships are scheduled for 25 and 26 July where Adeleke hopes to run in the 200m again and possibly compete at 400m.

Adeleke finished in fourth place in the final of the women’s 400m at the Paris Olympics in 2024 but suffered an injury-disrupted season in 2025 which forced her to withdraw from the World Championships in Tokyo.