Mageean beats field and a cold to win Irish title
ATHLETICS: Ciara Mageean got her European indoor campaign back on track, beating off Olympians Michelle Finn and Fionnuala McCormack for 3,000 metres gold at the National Senior Indoor Championships in Abbotstown.
It was a turbulent week for Mageean, who underperformed in Wednesday’s Athlone IT meeting due in part to a cold, while her grandmother passed away on Friday.
‘My aim is now to get rid of this head cold and going back home to my mummy’s cooking for a few days will help,’ smiled Mageean.
McCormack was a surprise entrant, as the European bronze medallist in 2013 over this distance has moved up to the marathon.
After letting McCormack set the pace for the opening 1,500m, Finn and Mageean came through in a burst of speed with Mageean eventually easing home to gold.
The new indoor arena saw its first national senior record as Alex Wright broke Rob Heffernan’s 5km walk record, with 18:50.70.