You can envisage the statue of Ciara Mageean already, standing as pride of place in her beloved Portaferry, County Down.
Speaking at a Flogas event today which saw the announcement of a docuseries around Team Ireland Olympic athletes and including Mageean, we saw snippets of those who had achieved big in the quadrennial competition in the past, and the immortality that comes along with that.
“Watching the little video they prepared there for everybody gave me chills and a little lump in my throat. It’s certainly getting closer and closer and the summer is approaching…it’s exciting,” she says.
The famed Irish middle distance runner secured a fourth place finish at the World Championships last year, and will hope to go one better this summer, forever cementing herself with that acclaimed status in Irish athletics folklore.
Bouncing back from a “hamstring tweak” injury that saw her miss the indoor season, she isn’t too concerned about that given her track record with bouncing back.
“I was in a similar place this time last year and I had a fairly good summer after it so I’m not too worried,” she says.
In fact, for her efforts in 2023, Mageean won many awards, including the joint accolade of Irish Athletics Athlete of the Year alongside golden girl Rhasidat Adeleke.
With Paris 2024 looming, Ciara Mageean is happy with where she’s at and is revelling in all of the support that comes along with an Olympic year.
“It’s interesting the Olympics itself holds such a special grasp on everybody whether they’re into sport or not, so suddenly this year you’d get a little bit more interest than you would any other year,” she says.
“It gives me such a lift. I was only home yesterday and chatting to people wishing me good luck for the summer. It’s a joy to be able to go out and represent everybody, to go out and represent my little small town in Portaferry and the whole nation of Ireland and yeah whenever people are behind us it’s so lovely to have that.
“I know for me myself whenever they see that little tricolour coming up they’re going to think what's Ciara Mageean going to do. Its so fun to think that the Irish public have an Irish athlete out there that they can get behind and really will for in a final.”
“But yeah, to know that our competitors fear us a little, it is a good thing to know.” she laughs.
Great to chat to Ciara today, some woman for one woman 💪
Always repping for women in sport too, across the board, from the track to coaches, media and more.
Things you love to see!
👀 Watch the FULL chat here📺-https://t.co/AxeDhDHO3opic.twitter.com/7KP13GKpEp https://t.co/oPYa1mZEkm— Alanna Cunnane (@acunnane10) March 7, 2024
She’s also proud of Team Ireland’s achievements across the board, especially the phenomenal showcase at the recent World Indoor championships.
“The Irish athletics team is so strong and we’re going forward with such strength because a lot of our athletes are very young. It’s super exciting,” she says.
“It lifts me to see the girls doing so well in the Indoors. Now we’re not only a nation that's going to be competitive over middle distances, we’ve got sprinters too!”
Re-kickstarting her season with another training camp and then a “wee meet” in Manchester, where she currently lives, Mageean comes across as content and optimistic for the coming season.
The Olympics may be on the horizon, but that famous Irish support will have somewhere else to cheer her on first.
“The next big one I’ll be focusing on is the European Championships at the end of May, so that’s hopefully where the Irish public will get to see me,” she says.
Flogas is the Energy Behind Team Ireland for #Paris2024 ⚡ ☘️
Join us in celebrating this monumental moment as we announce our “The Energy Behind” campaign featuring David Gillick, Ciara Mageean, and Jordan Conroy. 🏅#TheEnergyBehind #TeamIreland https://t.co/IkFBZ0eWZ6 pic.twitter.com/eAzkyLueEV— Flogas (@FlogasIreland) March 7, 2024
