Ciara Mageean produced an eye-catching performance to claim
bronze in the 1500m final, at the European Indoor Athletic Championships in
Glasgow. With a time of 4:09.43, Mageean claimed her second major Championship
medal, having won bronze at the 2016 European Outdoor Championships in Amsterdam.
The Portaferry athlete was locked in sixth place for much of
the race, but showed great temperament and coolness as she bided her time
before making a move on the outside. With two laps to go, Mageean started to
edge her way up to the front of the pack, led by GB’s runaway winner Laura
Muir.
From there, the UCD runner overtook Serbia’s Amela Terzic to
move into third just behind Muir and Poland’s Sofia Ennaoui. With Muir kicking
on from the chasing pack, Mageean and Ennaoui were locked in a two-way battle
for second. 
The two runners were neck-and-neck on the final straight but
Ennaoui got a final surge of pace to narrowly edge past Mageean who crossed
over well clear of the rest of the field in third.
There she is now! @ciaramageean ☘️ pic.twitter.com/KGlbN1fD8J
— Jessie Barr (@JessieBarr247) March 3, 2019
Bronze caps off a phenomenal start to the year for Mageean who has made the move to Manchester as part of the professional New Balance team, guided by Coach Steve Vernon. The change in environment has certainly done the trick as Mageean has begun to display top-class performances on a consistent basis.
In January, Mageean set a new Irish Indoor Mile record of 4:28.31 at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston before smashing the Indoor 1500m record at the AIT International Grand Prix in February, with a time of 4:06:78. The 26-year old also claimed the 3000m crown at the National Indoor Championships, in Abobotstown.
Speaking after the race Mageean said:
“It gives me great confidence going forward…I’m delighted to bring this medal to Ireland, delighted to bring it back to Portaferry,”
“I’m also delighted to bring it back to team New Balance Manchester because it was a huge move for me and it’s really paying off.”
‘I am very disappointed I don’t have silver right now’ – a delighted (if nauseous) @ciaramageean chats to @davidgillick after winning bronze in the 1500 metres #RTEsport pic.twitter.com/6yrYVBAq7n
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 3, 2019
Putting on the Green vest continues to be the pinnacle for Mageean as she proudly held the tricolour aloft after the race. Mageean kissed the flag to underline the joy and honour she feels in representing her country.
Mageean said:
“I’m delighted to see the Irish flag raised. I live to run in that green, white and gold. People talk about different things in athletics but I don’t do it for the money and the amazing times are few and far between.”
Focus now turns to preparation for the World Championships which take place in early October in Doha.