Rhasidat Adeleke
Athletics
BIOGRAPHY
Rhasidat Adeleke represented Ireland in the women’s 400 metres and the women’s 4×400 metres relay at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, becoming the first Irish athlete ever to reach an Olympic sprint final.
She finished 4th in the 400 metres final in a new Irish record of 49.28 seconds – the fastest ever run by an Irish woman – and was part of the relay team that finished 4th in another national record of 3:19.90, missing bronze by just 0.18 seconds.
Born in Tallaght, Dublin, to Yoruba parents who emigrated from Oyo State in Nigeria, Adeleke grew up in Tallaght and was spotted by a teacher at St Mark’s Primary School aged 10. She joined Tallaght Athletic Club and attended Presentation Community College Terenure, where she completed her Leaving Certificate in 2020. From the outset she was a prodigy – she won the European Under-18 200 metres gold in Győr in 2018 aged just 15, and swept the European Under-20 100m and 200m double in Tallinn in 2021.
She took up a scholarship at the University of Texas in 2021, becoming the first Irish athlete to win an NCAA title in 2023. In 2023 she also became the first Irish woman to break the 50-second barrier in the 400 metres. At the 2024 European Championships in Rome she won gold in the mixed 4×400 metres relay and silver in both the individual 400 metres and the women’s relay. She holds seven individual Irish national records from 60 metres indoors to 400 metres.
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ATHLETICS NEWS
Diamond League Podiums In London for Mark English & Sarah Healy
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Performance Round Up – June 2026
Athletics Mark English finished second in a high-quality men’s 800m field at the Rome Diamond League. The Donegal athlete clocked a season’s best time of 1:43.80, his second fastest ever over the distance, as he closed strongly in the final metres to challenge for victory. Sarah Healy delivered a personal best time of 14:48.88 in [...]
Events Coming Up in July
Athletics Eugene Diamond League - July 4th Cork City Sports - July 8th Morton Games - July 10th Monaco Diamond League - July 10th Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix - July 14th London Diamond League - July 18th National Senior Track and Field Championships - July 25th & 26th Badminton Japan Open World Tour 750 [...]
Allianz Ireland Deepens Partnership with Rhasidat Adeleke as Logo Debuts on Race Kit
Team Ireland's title sponsor Allianz Ireland has today announced a significant expansion of its partnership with Irish Olympic sprinter and national record holder Rhasidat Adeleke. In a milestone moment for the partnership, the Allianz logo will officially appear on Adeleke’s competition kit for the first time, marking a new chapter in a relationship that has [...]
SCHOOL’S OUT – DARE TO BELIEVE WRAPS A STANDOUT YEAR
The Olympic Federation of Ireland is celebrating a standout year for its Dare to Believe schools programme, proudly sponsored by Allianz and supported by Olympic Solidarity, which once again brought the Olympic Movement to the classroom, with values and learnings that cover resilience, respect and courage. As schools break for the summer, the programme is [...]
Two-Time Olympian Phil Healy Announces Retirement from Athletics
Following a Trailblazing Career That Helped Transform Irish Sprinting Two-time Olympian, European medalist and one of Ireland’s greatest ever sprinters, Phil Healy, has announced her retirement from international athletics. The Bandon AC athlete leaves the sport as one of the defining figures in the modern era of Irish sprinting, having played a central role in [...]