Rhasidat Adeleke says competing at the European Indoor Athletics Championships this weekend was not feasible due a tight schedule and the time it would have taken for her to travel to Istanbul.
A squad of 15 Irish athletes is set to compete at the championships from March 2nd - 5th. Adeleke would have been a major medal contender in the 400m had she chosen to run.
The 20-year-old is a student athlete at the University of Texas. Over the weekend, at the Big 12 Championships in Lubbock, Texas, she once again broke the Irish 400m record, running 50.33, the third-fastest time in the world this year. Adeleke also briefly held the NCAA record before it was snatched from her by Talitha Diggs who was running at the SEC Championships in Florida.
The NCAA Championships, which take place on March 10th - 11th in Albuquerque, will likely see a showdown between Adeleke and Diggs for the 400m title.
"I feel more so for the fact that it's a long flight, and then having to come back, and compete," Adeleke said during a video call on Monday when asked not competing at the European Indoors.
"In the US, it's all very fast-paced. You do indoors and then you're straight into outdoors. Going to Istanbul to compete and potentially do three rounds of the 400m, and then get on a 12 - 15 hour flight back to Austin might have been detrimental to my season. We decided it was the best idea not to go."
Once the NCAA season is over, the main focus of the season for Adeleke will be the World Championships in Budapest at the end of August.
The Tallaght AC sprinter finished ninth in the world in the 400m at last year's World Championships in Oregon, and then fifth in the European 400m final in Munich.
"I know that there's European U23 Championships in July, and we have Irish nationals," said Adeleke about her plans for the rest of the year.
"I feel like those will be events I go to. In between, I'm not too sure because it would make sense to stay competition fit due to the fact that Budapest isn't until the end of August. It's a big gap from July to the end of August. I might be doing a couple of competitions in Europe. I'll see what my coach (Edrick Floréal) thinks will fit for the situation, and we'll go from there."
See Also: Adeleke Breaks Irish 400m Record Again, Wins Big 12 Championship
