The decision to run professionally came as no surprise and now Rhasidat Adeleke promptly gets the chance to test herself against some of the best of them, including the fastest 200m woman alive.
Ahead of making her Diamond League debut in Monaco on Friday, over her now chosen distance of 400m, Adeleke will line up over 200m on Tuesday evening at the Istvan Gyulai meeting in Szekesfehervar, Hungary – the latest stop on the Continental Gold Tour.
That line-up includes Shericka Jackson, the World Champion from Jamaica, who won that title in Oregon last summer in 21.45 seconds: only the late Florence Griffith-Joyner ran faster, her world record of 21.34 from 1988.
Adeleke is likely to challenge her Irish record of 22.34 seconds, clocked in Gainville in April, the line-up also including Tamaria Clark from the US, who has a best of 21.71, plus Anthonique Stackham from the Bahamas, who has run 22.15.
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On Friday, Adeleke will then test herself against the American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone for the first time. The world record holder in the 400m hurdles is running the flat event this year and won the US Championships last weekend in a time of 48.71
On Sunday evening, after much talk and anticipation, Adeleke confirmed she would forego her final year of eligibility at the University of Texas in Austin to take up a professional running contract in advance of next year’s Paris Olympics.
Still only 20, running 400m properly for the first time this year, Adeleke improved her Irish record to 49.20 seconds when winning the NCAA title in Texas last month, already reaching the pinnacle of US collegiate athletics.
[ Irish athlete Rhasidat Adeleke announces she is turning professionalOpens in new window ]
In a statement via social media, the Dublin sprinter said: “I’m extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to represent the University of Texas these past three years. I couldn’t have made a better decision! I’d like to thank absolutely everyone who supported me along the way and those that helped me become who I am today. However, I’d like to announce that I am forgoing the remainder of my eligibility and becoming a professional athlete.”
It follows that of her two big rivals on the US collegiate scene, Britton Wilson and Talitha Diggs also announcing their move into the professional ranks in recent weeks.
Her coach Edrick Floréal had been insistent he wouldn’t be standing in her way, but would continue to coach her, within the same Austin limits, right through Paris and beyond: “If the time is right for her to go and make a living out of this, I’ve already told her she can stay at Texas as long as she wants, and I’ll coach her,” he said in May.
