After a record-breaking season, Ciara Mageean had to be content with 11th in the 1500m at the Diamond League Final in Eugene, Oregon in a race where she admitted she “just didn’t feel [her]self.”
31-year-old Mageean, who ran 4:03.09, shared over Instagram that the final was “not the race I wanted today…but I’ve had an amazing season this year, so now it’s time to have a wee break.”
Had she replicated her new 3:55.87 national record time set last week in Brussels she would’ve earned fifth place in Eugene.
Kenyan Faith Kipyegon looked to be on track to break her world record of 3:49.11 in the same race but slowed in the final stages, finishing with 3:50.72 – the fifth fastest time ever. This is 29-year-old Kipyegon’s fourth Diamond League title. Behind her were a formidable field: Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji with a personal best (3:53.93), Britain’s Laura Muir with a season’s best (3:55.16), Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu with a personal best (3:55.68), and Linden Hall with an Australian national record (3:56.92).
Also ahead of Mageean were Ethiopia’s Birke Haylom (3:56.98) and Hirut Meshesha (3:57.53), Australia’s Jessica Hull (3:57.57), Britain’s Melissa Courtney-Bryant (3:59.57), and American Cory Ann McGee (4:01.28).
Meanwhile Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson (29) won the 100m as current world champion American Sha’Carri Richardson (23) had to settle for fourth, never fully recovering from a slower start. Jackson, who is 200m world champion, won in a blistering 10.70, followed by Cote d’Ivoire’s Marie Josee-Ta Lou (10.75) and Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah (10.79).