A year after setting the Irish 800m record at the Belfast Irish Miler Meet, Cork’s Louise Shanahan has once again won that race, with Ciara Mageean taking fourth.
With 1:59:53, Shanahan was just .11 seconds outside that record time.
England’s Abigail Ives took second with a personal best of 1:59.92. Isabelle Boffey took third with 2:00.18, just ahead of Mageean with 2:00.36.
Mageean looked to be in strong position until 250m away from the finish line, when Shanahan made an impressive sprint.
The 26-year-old Shanahan, who is finishing her PhD in quantum biophysics at Cambridge, has now qualified for the World Athletics Championships this summer in Budapest.
Meanwhile, after the best season of her career, Mageean missed the indoor season this year due to a foot injury. She admitted that, for starting back, “that women’s 800m was a high calibre race. I toed the line not really knowing what I had in me.”
“I’m disappointed to have come fourth but in a field like that you can’t be disappointed when you are racing top 800m girls and they manage to get you at the end of the race. Huge congratulations to the girls.”
After her defeat last year, Mageean recovered in magnificent style, so there’s no reason not to expect a successful summer for the 31-year-old.
Meanwhile, Sharlene Mawdsley won the 400m with a time of 52.75s, just .o5 seconds her outdoor personal best.
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