Gillick on Mageean: Diamond League win primes Ciara for Olympic medal run

MEDAL CHANCE: David Gillick says Mageean is now one of Ireland's best medal hopefuls. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

To some it came as a shock, but for David Gillick, Ciara Mageean’s Irish 1500m record and victory at the Brussels Diamond League last week was not a bolt from the blue. 

“I’m not overly surprised that she ran fast,” he says. “There were things there which would suggest that she was in very good form and obviously she just needed that kind of race. You could see, tactically, she was running really well, getting close to the likes of Laura Muir.” 

Mageean clocked 3:56.63 to turn the tables on Muir from last month’s European final and carve two seconds off Sonia O’Sullivan’s national record.

“It’s the biggest win of her career, by far,” says Gillick. “To win a Diamond League in a huge time, even from a sponsor’s perspective, it changes the game completely. With two years to (the 2024 Olympics in) Paris, you’re going, ‘who’s our best chance of a medal?’ That puts Ciara very much in that frame.” 

The win meant Mageean secured a spot in tonight’s Diamond League final in Zurich, where the level will go up a notch, with Faith Kipyegon, the greatest female 1500m runner of all time, in the field along with world silver medallist Gudaf Tsegay.

“It's going to be stacked but confidence is a great thing to have going into a race like that,” says Gillick. “She won't fear anyone. There are a lot of good athletes in the field so I think for Ciara to back up what she did last week would be success.” 

Gillick believes much of Mageean’s mental fortitude is drawn from the injury struggles she dealt with in her early 20s. 

“That gives you that perseverance. Careers are never straight lines, there are always ups and downs and it’s how you respond. That’s the stuff that really matters – who are the people around?” 

On that subject of support, Gillick hopes to see increased funding directed to Athletics Ireland following the best ever European Championships for the Irish. 

“When you look at the last couple of years and the funding that’s come from Sport Ireland, the model is around performance and (winning) medals at global championships and Olympics. We haven’t done that, so our funding has stalled a bit, and I think it’s unfair at times to compare different sports. Athletics is a very, very difficult sport at global level so medals are few and far between. This is a great opportunity for athletics to bang on that door and say, ‘look, we are performing.’ We still need investment in our coaching. We’re a bit behind and from my perspective, it’s not sustainable in the long run. If you’re relying on someone who’s a coach as a hobby, it’s going to play second fiddle (to other work) and the negative impact could be on the athlete.” 

Gillick hung up his spikes in 2013 after a nightmare run of injuries though he returned to represent Ireland at the 2016 Europeans in Amsterdam. In a week when Brian O’Driscoll spoke openly about the struggles faced in retirement, Gillick can empathise.

“You can never replace that buzz of winning a race or hearing Amhrán na bhFiann or running in front of 60-70,000 people. You've got to accept you're in a completely different phase of your life and that can take time. It's not something that just goes away. The way I deal with it now is I have good people around me. I'm not ashamed to admit I still go to a counsellor and talk about these things because it's a huge part of my life and always will be. My advice to all people who have had massive change in their life: go and talk to someone.” 

*David Gillick was speaking at the launch of European Week of Sport 2022, in partnership with Sport Ireland. European Week of Sport is a week-long celebration of sport which promotes physical activity in people of all ages, backgrounds, or fitness levels. Sport Ireland is calling on you and your family to get out and #BeActive between the 23rd - 30th of September and who knows, this may be the start of a new found love for sport. For more information and to find an event near you, go to - www.sportireland.ie/europeanweekofsport”