Rhasidat Adeleke and Sophie O'Sullivan Close Season in Style at Inaugural European Athlos Meeting in London
Rhasidat Adeleke brought the curtain down on her 2026 track season with a fourth-place finish in the 200m at the inaugural European Athlos meeting at StoneX Stadium in London on Thursday, clocking 22.64 seconds and earning $15,000 in prize money, while Sophie O'Sullivan placed fifth in the 800m — a fitting conclusion to a season in which Irish women's athletics reached new heights on the continental stage.
Background
The Athlos meeting, founded by entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian, is an all-women athletics event designed to provide elite female athletes with a high-production, commercially focused platform and a significant prize purse. The London staging at StoneX Stadium in Hendon was the first time the event had been held in Europe, and it attracted a field of world-class competitors across multiple disciplines. For Adeleke and O'Sullivan, it represented the final competitive outing of a season that had already delivered considerable success.
Adeleke, who competes for Ireland having been born in Texas to a Nigerian father and Irish mother, has been one of the most compelling figures in European athletics over the past two years. Her decision to represent Ireland rather than the United States was a significant moment for Irish athletics, and she has repaid the faith of Athletics Ireland with a series of performances that have placed her among the continent's elite sprinters.
O'Sullivan, daughter of former world 1500m champion Sonia O'Sullivan, has carved out her own identity in the 800m, running three consecutive sub-two-minute races earlier in the season and setting a personal best of 1:58.60 in Brescia, Italy. Her invitation to Athlos was a recognition of that form, and she replaced Laura Nicholson on the World Athletics Road Running Championships team to accommodate her participation in London.
Key Developments
In the 200m, Adeleke was beaten by Olympic champion Gabby Thomas of the United States, who won in 22.13 seconds and took home $65,000. Kayla White (22.40) and Anavia Battle (22.43) took second and third respectively, with Adeleke's 22.64 earning her fourth place and $15,000. The result was a solid conclusion to a season in which she had set an Irish national record of 22.28 seconds while winning silver at the European Championships in Birmingham.
O'Sullivan's 800m was won by Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain in a stunning 1:56.40. O'Sullivan finished fifth in 2:00.53, earning $10,000. She noted afterwards that the first lap had been run at a ferocious pace — 57.53 seconds — and expressed her enjoyment of the event's unique atmosphere. "It's unlike anything else on the circuit," she said. "The crowd is right on top of you and the energy is incredible."
Why It Matters
The presence of two Irish women at an invitation-only elite athletics meeting in London, competing against Olympic champions and earning significant prize money, would have been almost unimaginable a decade ago. Irish women's athletics has undergone a transformation in recent years, driven in part by the emergence of Adeleke and O'Sullivan but also by broader investment in the sport at underage and development level. The Athlos meeting, with its emphasis on prize money and production values, represents a new commercial model for women's athletics — one that recognises the drawing power of elite female athletes and compensates them accordingly. Ireland's presence at such events is both a reflection of the progress made and an incentive for the next generation of Irish athletes to pursue the sport at the highest level.
Local Impact
In Dublin, where Adeleke trains and has become a recognisable figure, the response to her season has been one of genuine excitement. Athletics Ireland has seen increased interest in sprint programmes at club level, with several coaches reporting a surge in young girls taking up the discipline. O'Sullivan, who is based in Cork, has similarly inspired a new generation of middle-distance runners. Both athletes are expected to return to competition in 2027 with ambitions of challenging for medals at the World Athletics Championships.
What's Next
Both Adeleke and O'Sullivan will now enter their off-season before returning to training in November. Adeleke has indicated she will focus on the 200m and 400m in 2027, with the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo the primary target. O'Sullivan is expected to target the 800m and potentially the 1500m. The Athlos series has confirmed it will return to London in 2027, with organisers indicating they hope to expand the event's reach across Europe.
