Rhasidat Adeleke has said that her mentality has completely shifted in her three years experiencing the American collegiate system as she looks forward to what could be a special 2024.
The Tallaght sprinter is forgoing her final year of eligibility with the University of Texas, but she leaves the college scene with a host of records to her name, including running the eighth-fastest 400m time in NCAA history, and she said that her changing perspective has been equally valuable.
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"Just knowing that I’m able to bounce back and one performance doesn’t define me. I’m always able to prove myself, [I’ll have] another opportunity to prove myself and I’m definitely looking forward... instead of maybe dwelling on a poor performance.
"Also being able to understand that I deserve to be here and I’m just as good as everyone else.
"The race can be won by anyone, once you make the final it’s anyone’s race.
"I think being out here I’ve learned a lot, especially being in the NCAA and competing against such talented girls; that kind of prepares you for that and kind of changes your mindset towards being yourself in a different light and making sure that you’re in a good space mentally as well as physically."
Elaborating further, Adeleke, one of Ireland's main medal hopes for the forthcoming Paris Olympics, said that getting over the fear of losing has led to more rewarding accomplishments.
"I feel like before I went to the States I was maybe like a big fish in a small pond, people used to say that.
"Coming out here I became a small fish in a big pond so it kind of allowed me to see myself in a different light and it helped me develop as an athlete.
"My first couple of years I actually got used to losing so when I did win I was able to treasure it more and I was able to bounce back quicker from losing.
"My freshman year, my first couple of meets just weren’t that good... I just wasn’t used to losing much.
"Now I’m not scared of losing, I’m seeing my races as an opportunity to show what I have been working on, to show my talents and I won’t see it as a threat anymore."
Adeleke’s indoor season came to a conclusion at the Millrose Games in New York in February, the 21-year-old securing second place in the 300m final and another national record to add to her 60m and 200m records earlier in the year.
Now, focus shifts to some key outdoor dates.
That begins with the world relays in The Bahamas in early May as the women’s and mixed 4x400m teams target Olympic qualification before the European Championships in Rome in June.
All eyes though will be on Paris and whether or not Adeleke can live up to the hype.
"I feel like it’s very important to see it as a positive thing," she said of that expectation.
"I feel like in sports we can look at the glass half-empty instead of half-full and we could think of the worst sometimes.
"'How about I go to the Olympics and lose? How about I go and disappoint everybody?' I want to see it as I’m blessed to have the opportunity to go to the Olympics.
"It’s great that people are going to be supporting me. People have expectations but they’re good expectations. When people have expectations about you it means that they believe in you and they believe you can do great things."
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