Following the captivating viral moment between Rihanna and Rhasidat Adeleke, the Irish track star relived the moment meeting one of the most famous people in the world who's a huge fan of her talent.
Paris Olympian Rhasidat Adeleke relived the surreal moment of meeting music star and business mogul Rihanna at the Fenty Haircare Launch in Selfridges, London two weeks ago.
The Irish track star was one of the famous guests at the launch, and a viral moment was captured of Rihanna and Adeleke fangirling each other at the event.
According to reports, Adeleke is signed as one of the brand ambassadors for Fenty Hair, after being one of the superstars who rocked the Paris Olympic Games with not just her finesse and beauty, but talent on the track.
17:01 - 19.08.2024
Like Rhasidat Adeleke, Ireland benefits from another speedster of Nigerian descent who's destined for global greatness
Rhasidat Adeleke broke barriers by becoming the greatest sprinter in Irish history. Now, there's another blazing sprinter of Nigerian descent rising through the flanks and he is tipped for global greatness.
Following the captivating moment between both stars, the 22-year-old has now revealed how it felt meeting one of the most famous people in the world who's a huge fan of her talent.
"So I knew she followed me on Instagram two years ago after the world championships in 2022. I think she must have seen me somewhere and found me and followed me and I was like 'Oh Rihanna, that's so random'. And I was like, oh, should I follow her back or should I not follow her back," said Adeleke on The Late Late Show.
"And so after that, like, her team started reaching out to me, like send me products, send me goodluck notes for my races and stuff. So I thought maybe it was like her team. Like, she didn't actually know who I was.
"And then I got the invite to the event and I was actually able to go this time because it wasn't like during the season and stuff...And when she saw me, she like, couldn't believe I was there," added Adeleke.
"I didn't realise that she could actually know who I was. Just because someone follows you on Instagram doesn't actually mean they know who you are. So she was like 'Oh my God, it's you. I can't believe it's you. You're here...So yeah, it was such a crazy moment for her to recognise me and like, just the following, actually following my journey, she actually knew who I was and was following what I do, so it was surreal."
Adeleke had a brilliant outing at her maiden Olympics in Paris, where she became the first Irish track athlete to qualify for an Olympic women's 400m final and finished fourth in 49.28s, behind the winner, Marileidy Paulino, who ran an Olympic record of 48.17s, Salwa Eid Naser in second in 48.53s, and Natalia Kaczmaerek third in 48.98s.
She is the first Irish woman to break the 50-second barrier in the 400m, and holds seven individual national records (60m indoors, 100m outdoors, 200 m indoors and outdoors, 300 m indoors, and 400m indoors and outdoors).
The Irish-Nigerian track star is a role model in her country and several young black-athletes globally.