WITH weeks passing by in a flash, it has long become an inescapable question for Rhasidat Adeleke.
Sure, she has the World Relay Championships in the Bahamas coming up in a couple of weeks. Then there’s the European Athletics Championships in early June, where she could run at both 200m and 400m.
But, with only 102 days until the Olympics get under way on July 26, everything is framed by Paris, whether she likes it or not. Excited? Nervous? How is preparation going?
Given the huge strides made during the past few years, the Dubliner finds expectation levels increasing every time she sets foot on the track. It comes with the territory, she knows, but Adeleke is delighted that burden is not being shouldered alone.
Magheralin’s Daniel Wiffen has lit up in the swimming world in the past 12 months, and is now seen as a major medal contender in Paris. So too Newtownards gymnast Rhys McClenaghan, who has returned bigger and better from the disappointment of Tokyo 2020, becoming a double World gold medallist in the pommel horse in the time between.
With Kellie Harrington also back in the ring to defend the lightweight title won three years ago, Ireland’s hopes of Olympic success have seldom been better, or more wide-ranging, than this time around.
“I’ve met Rhys a couple of times,” said the 21-year-old at the launch of Spar’s European Athletics Championship campaign.
“I haven’t met Daniel before but they’re both phenomenal athletes and I’m so excited to be hopefully on a team with them in Paris and see what we can all do... it’s amazing to have that many medal prospects.
“That might have not been something that was as common. We have people in various sports and it’s amazing to see that. I guess it can alleviate the pressure, but every sport has its own set of fans, if that makes sense.
“Regardless of whether someone will do something in swimming or gymnastics, I would still feel that pressure from track and field fans, but that’s just part of the game.
“When people expect things of you it means that they believe you can do good things, or believe you can be up there. I probably see it more of a positive thing than a negative thing.”
Adeleke admits the Olympic Games didn’t enter her thought process until Rio 2016, and even then it wasn’t track and field that grabbed her attention. Instead, it was the athletes around her own age already competing with the world’s best at the greatest show on earth.
“I don’t know specifically their names but I just know there were some athletes in swimming and they were like 14 or 15. I was about 13 at the time and I was like ‘oh my God, they’re at the Olympics and they’re only 14-year-olds, I should be at the Olympics right now’.
“It was really cool to see so many young people compete... I guess you don’t see it in track as much but seeing younger people at the Olympics, competing for their country, on such a major stage, that was really cool to see.
“It was definitely an aspiration and it did feel realistic. I’m just really happy it’s coming to life right now.”
And the thrill of competing for Ireland retains a special place for Adeleke, who is due to finish her degree in business and communication at the University of Texas next month.
The World Relays afford her another chance to do just that, while the European Championships provide the perfect opportunity to showcase what she is capable of on the international stage – and serve warning as Paris nears.
“I’m really excited. I’ve been to the world relays once before and it was such an amazing meet.
“I just can’t wait to have that experience again, it’s going to be my first championships in a while and it’s just so nice for me to start off with relays because I guess it just brings back that team aspect that I love so much.
“You’re fighting for more than yourself, you’re fighting for your team and trying to make sure your team qualifies for the Olympics and that would be an amazing opportunity.
“Even in an individual race I am running for more than myself, I’m running for my family, my friends, my coaches, my country and all the people who have supported me.
“It’s definitely good to get that [European] championship in before the Olympics, prepare you a little bit and remind you of what it feels like to be at a major championships.
“It’s an indicator of where you’re going to be coming into the Olympics, and good to see the competition again at such a high level.”
And yet, for all the excitement that the weeks and months ahead hold, recent days have been tinged with considerable sadness following the passing off Adeleke’s first coach, Johnny Fox on Sunday.
Adeleke was 10 when she joined Tallaght AC and, over the next five years, Fox helped harness her incredible potential.
“Honestly, throughout this period I’ve been reflecting on everything he’s done for me,” she said of the 83-year-old.
“He built me up so much, not just as an athlete but my characteristics as an individual. He showed me the values to have in life and he is so wise.
“He lived through so many experiences and shared those with me so I can learn from those experiences and not have to endure certain things myself. He did so much for me.
“He was just an amazing, amazing man and the whole community would say the same thing.”
