Ciara Mageean still grieving for lost dream but fire in the belly for LA

Four months on from Olympic heartbreak, the Portaferry woman's pain remains raw.

HEARTBREAK: Middle Distance Athlete of the Year Ciara Mageean with her award during the 123.ie National Athletics Awards ceremony. Picture: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

For nearly 20 minutes the words spill from Ciara Mageean’s lips, more or less uninterrupted, before the annual Athletics Ireland awards. No less than 2,745 of them. She is asked just three short, simple questions in all that time. This is supposed to be a group interview. It isn’t that. It’s an emotional outpouring. A flushing of her soul.

Another one.