A visibly race-stale Rhasidat Adeleke finished ninth on her return to competitive 400m action at the Pre Classic in Eugene on Friday night, her time of 52.26 over three seconds outside her Irish record.
One year since her last 400m race at the same meet, Adeleke started out reasonably aggressive over the first 150m, running in lane three, and was still holding up well at the 200m mark.
The Dubliner then started to lose ground on those outside her around the top bend. Coming into the homestretch in seventh, Adeleke faded further in the last 50m to finish ninth, the only runner not to break 52 seconds.
Dejanea Oakley from Jamaica, running in the colours of the University of Georgia, blasted the last 50m to take the win in 49.64 on her maiden Diamond League appearance. The 22-year-old broke the US collegiate record at the same Hayward Field arena three weeks ago when she clocked a sensational 48.79 seconds to win the NCAA title.
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Oakley’s US training partner Aaliyah Butler was the only other runner in the field to break 50 seconds, finishing in 49.97, with Jamaica’s Stacey Ann Williams third in 50.12.
Adeleke’s Irish record of 49.07 was set when she won silver at the 2024 European Championships in Rome, although that time now seems a long way off as she works her way back from injuries which cut short her 2025 season, forcing her withdrawal from the World Championships in Tokyo last September.
Her 52.26 seconds here was also well outside the 51.20 qualifying standard for the European Championships in Birmingham next month. Given her lack of racing over the last year that mark could still be within her reach if things can improve swiftly from here.
Adeleke is listed to start the 400m at next weekend’s Diamond League in Monaco, where she won in 2024. The field there is set to include Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino, who ran 48.48 to smash the Diamond League record in Paris last weekend.
Interestingly, Oakley also attended the University of Texas, training under Adeleke’s coach Edrick Floréal, before transferring to the University of Georgia in 2024, where her trajectory has soared.
In her last 400m race in Eugene this time last year, Adeleke clocked 51.33 to finish fourth, and finished 2025 with a best of 50.42. She was on the original entry list for a high-quality 400m at the Shanghai Diamond League in May but postponed her return to racing to allow for more specific 400m training.
Adeleke was ranked third best in the world in the women’s 400m for a six-week period in 2024. Now 23, there is still ample time to get back to her best, the more pressing target for now being that European Championship qualifying time of 51.20 seconds.
