A t the start of 2019, World Athletics first introduced us to its new athlete-ranking system across all track, field and road-running events. An easy way of identifying the top athletes in each discipline, the template is familiar to any fan who follows a global sport.
But over seven years on, my understanding of exactly how this ranking system works is still prone to occasional confusion – or at least the need to double-check the criteria. Especially when last week we could see that Rhasidat Adeleke was still ranked as high as 14th in the world in the women’s 400m – and this week she’s not ranked at all.
Gone, erased, disappeared completely, just like that. But is this as alarming as it seems?
Essentially each athlete is assigned a ranking score based on the average of their five best performances within the previous 12-month period, with a few adjustments for longer events, such as the marathon, where it’s an average of two performances within an 18-month period. Each score is also based on a combination of performance and place, the latter depending on the level of competition.
Win an Olympic gold medal, for example, you get an extra 260 points. Win a small college meet in the US, or something similar, you get 11 points. Which is enough to give you the gist of things.
World Athletics is also leaning heavier than ever on world rankings when it comes to qualification for major championships, including the Olympics. Previously it aimed for a 50-50 split between qualifying standards and world rankings. For the 2028 Olympics in LA, up to 90 per cent of qualifying could be decided on the rankings. It’s probably the fairer and more balanced route, though.
Since these rankings were introduced, Adeleke has climbed far higher than any other Irish athlete. For six weeks, back in July and August of 2024, she was ranked third best in the world in the women’s 400m. To many people it looked like the only way was up.
American Isabella Whittaker, Norway's Henriette Jaeger and Ireland's Rhasidat Adeleke in the women's 400m during the Diamond League Athletics meeting in Stockholm on June 15th, 2025. Photograph: TT NEWS AGENCY/AFP via Getty Images
After her fourth-place finish in the Paris Olympics, she dropped back to fourth. She was still ranked fourth in the world this time last year but her fall out of the rankings reflects a troubling 12 months for the Dublin sprinter.
World Athletics updates its rankings every Wednesday, and, a week ago, Adeleke’s five best times for the 400m included two performances from the 2024 European Championships in Rome in June (her Irish record of 49.07 when finishing second in the final, and her 50.54 in the semi-final). In agreement with World Athletics, these times count until the next edition of the continental championships, in this case the 2026 European Championships, starting in Birmingham on August 10th.
[ Rhasidat Adeleke on life in the spotlight: ‘How do people like Beyoncé handle this? This is crazy!’ Opens in new window ]
But due to a series of setbacks and injuries, which saw her withdraw from the World Championships in Tokyo, Adeleke hasn’t started an individual 400m since last July.
So, when World Athletics pressed the refresh button on Wednesday, two of Adeleke’s times – given they’re now over 12 months old – were erased. Without the five required performances, she drops out of the rankings entirely. Probably not great for the confidence of any athlete.
Then again Jakob Ingebrigtsen has also dropped out of the men’s 1,500m rankings after injury ruined most of his 2025 season and the young Norwegian won’t be losing too much sleep over that.
The question of how soon Adeleke can break back into the 400m rankings depends on two things: how soon she gets back racing, and how fast she runs. She was on the original entry list for a high-quality 400m in the Shanghai Diamond League back on May 16th, but that never happened. She also scratched from the start list of both Continental Gold Tour meetings in Texas and LA earlier this month.
Rhasidat Adeleke's coach, Edrick Floréal, with the Dublin sprinter during training at the Mike A Myers Stadium in the University of Texas. Photograph: Darragh Bambrick
[ Rhasidat Adeleke delays her return to Diamond League action Opens in new window ]
No reason for any great alarm yet, perhaps. In a request for an update on Adeleke from this correspondent, her coach in Texas, Edrick Floréal, briefly responded on Wednesday by saying “she is keeping well and should be racing shortly”. For now, Adeleke remains on the 400m start list at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League in Eugene on July 4th – one of five finalists from the 2024 Olympics, including gold medal winner Marileidy Paulino from the Dominican Republic and runner-up Salwa Eid Naser from Bahrain.
More pressing than the matter of her world ranking is that Adeleke hasn’t yet secured the 400m qualifying time for the European Championships in Birmingham. The 51.20 standard is well within her…
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