Mageean smashes Irish record in Athlone

Two questions, brilliantly answered, and in the space of 10 minutes two genuine medal contenders had emerged for Ireland ahead of next month’s European Indoor Championships.

Going into last night’s Athlone IT International Grand Prix, some signs were already lurking that Ciara Mageean and Mark English were on the road back to the form that took them to European medals in the past, but in truth that belief was held more in hope than expectation.