Ciara Mageean’s spirit earns reward

Three years ago, Ciara Mageean was unable to run, beset with injuries and staring down the barrel of career-threatening surgery.

But in the space of four minutes and 33 seconds last night, the Portaferry native made all that feel like a distant memory.

Mageean became just the third Irish female to win a medal at the European Championships when sprinting to bronze in the 1500m final in Amsterdam behind Poland’s Angelika Cichocka and Dutch favourite Sifan Hassan.