Ciara Mageean battles through

Ciara Mageean made it through to this evening’s European Indoor 1500m final but it was far from pretty.

The UCD athlete battled her way through in Belgrade but it was far from a five-star performance. Positioned in the top two automatic spots for most of the race, Mageean was run out at the finish in fourth in 4:12.81 but edged through as one of the three fastest non-automatic qualifiers. Sweden’s Meraf Bahta was first in 4:12.39.

“I didn’t want to leave it that late as a fastest loser,” said Mageean afterwards who will change her tactics for the final and hope for more spring in the legs come the finish.