On Wednesday, 30 September 2026, Rhasidat Adeleke was honoured with the James Joyce Award by the Literary and Historical Society (L&H). An Olympic finalist and mixed 4×4 400m champion, Adeleke is also the holder of seven individual Irish track records and has contributed to two other national records.
Adeleke received the award from Katie O’Sullivan, Auditor of the L&H, whose interview provided insight into Adeleke’s upbringing, her experiences of growing up on the running track and how she developed a mentality that allows her to bounce back after injuries. Adeleke gave an eloquent speech before her interview, describing her experience of playing six sports and taking lessons for multiple musical instruments, wanting to be great in something but having to find a sport that was her true passion. She settled on running, saying that it “has felt like an art form to me”. She detailed her experiences of both successes and failures, including the transition to becoming a professional athlete during her final year of college and becoming “the CEO of her own brand”. She expanded upon this in her interview, saying that “I had to do adult stuff that they didn’t really teach”, reflecting on the pressures of becoming a professional athlete and the difficulties she encountered in navigating her status.
Adeleke shed light on her initial disappointment at missing out on a medal by 0.003 seconds at the 2024 Olympics, recounting her preparation for the final race and admitting she was unable to process her unique position as the first Irish female sprinter to make an Olympic final at the time. She remarked that it was “untouched territory; it was history”. She also illustrated her evolving perspective on the Olympics, saying that at the time, “I had become consumed by what could have been”, before displaying a mature perspective in her interview on the experience and her overall performances, saying “I don’t think age was the defining factor… but I can appreciate what I done”.
Both Adeleke’s speech and her interview focused on the idea of pivoting and the importance of mentality when dealing with setbacks to her plans, acknowledging that “sometimes the pathway we carefully planned for ourselves disappears”, referring to her struggles with injuries after the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, she also provided a great perspective on her position as an athlete, with her attitude towards setbacks, saying that ‘Expectation is a privilege’ and that ‘I can be ambitious and grateful at the same time’, an approach that she credited for her performances at the 2026 European Championships, where she recovered from an injury-ridden year to claim silver in the 200 metres.
Adeleke is in good company on the list of James Joyce Award recipients, joining notable sportspeople, including Paul O’Connell, Tony Hawk and Daniel Wiffin.
By: Brendan White