Ciara Mageean making great strides

Five years ago, Ciara Mageean had the world at her feet, her rivals in the rear-view mirror, and a bright future looming on the horizon.

The next Sonia O’Sullivan, they said. Destined for stardom. But then her heel started hurting, and suddenly, it all turned grey.

“I don’t want to bring back those memories,” she says, only half-joking, when asked to recount the injuries that for so long derailed her promising career.