Magical Mageean breaks another record

A BRILLIANT day of athletics was illuminated by electrifying performances from two of Ireland’s brightest young talents, Ciara Mageean (Assumption, Ballinahinch) and Siofra Cleirigh Buttner (Coláiste Iosagain), at the Woodies DIY Irish Schools Championships in Tullamore on Saturday.

Mageean, a European Youth Olympic champion, is the hottest property in Irish athletics and she highlighted this fact with a stunning performance in the senior girls’ 1,500m which she won in a sensational 4:19.00, knocking 11½ seconds off the old record set by another star performer, Sinead Delahunty (Kilkenny VS) back in 1989.

Last year Mageean broke Sonia O’Sullivan’s Irish junior record when she won the 800m in 2:05.00 and this run moves her to the top echelon of the Irish rankings. It convinced her that the 1,500m will be her event when she travels to Canada in August for the world junior championships.