Mageean Wins World Junior Silver & Smashes Records! - 25 July 2010

Portaferry athlete Ciara Mageean has just ran the race of her life to win a World Junior Silver Medal in 4.09.51!!!

She smashes her PB and is also a Irish Junior Record! Mageeans previous PB was 4.15.46 so her 4.09.51 takes chunks off it and is also a New Northern Ireland 1500m Record.

She said:
"It’s Ireland’s first ever medal on the track. I’m so bloody happy. I’m so proud. I just wanted to do it for everyone back home. And to finish with a national record I’m thrilled.

I knew I was in it on the final kick. I wanted to finish strong and I have the silver".

Her time of 4 mins 9.51 secs obliterated her existing Irish Junior record by almost 6 secs. Winner of the race was Ethiopia's Tizita Bogale who had to set a PB of 4.08.06 to stay ahead of the Portaferry girl.

Ciara took the start line in the knowledge that many of the 12 strong field had faster times.Indeed the picture looked bleak when a group of 5 Africans opened a sizeable gap after 800 metres.Luckily the pace then slowed significantly allowing Ciara and others to close up.

With a lap to go Ciara and winner Bogale relentlessly increased the pace and opened a huge lead on their rivals.With 200 metres left Bogale kicked again and pulled clear. Ciara then dug in in her isolated 2nd spot determined that she would not be overtaken.

At the line Mageean was a clear 2nd by some 1.5 secs ahead of bronze medallist Nancy Chepkemoi of Kenya who also set a PB in 4.11.04. Britain's Laura Weightman was 6th in 4.14.31.

World Youth 800 silver medallist Mageean now has her sights firmly on that distance for Delhi's Commonwealth Games.After this spectacular performance anything now seems possible for the Irishwoman.

A gutsy race by a hugely talented young girl!

In the Men's 800 metres North Down's Mark Patterson ran a highly respectable 1.50.47 in his heat but was unfortunately disqualified in his semi final race.

IAAF Race Report
In contrast to the 2008 final in Bydgoczsz, the Moncton 1500m final was a brisk affair characterized by a 61-second opening lap led by Kenyans Nelly Ngeiywo and Nancy Chepkwemoi.

Ngeiywo and Chepkwemoi bolted to the front from the gun, towing the field through 300m in 44 seconds and 400m in 1:01.02. Tizita Bogale of Ethiopia and Genzeb Shumi of Bahrain made up the rest of the lead pack, but the punishing pace was unsustainable for nearly all of them. The leaders were already slowing approaching the 700m mark, and at 800m they were 2:10.14 with Shumi falling back (she would ultimately finish 10th) and first Jordan Hasay (USA) and then Ciara Mageean (IRL) rejoining the pack.

Ngeiywo began to fall back in the third lap, and Hasay on the outside and Mageean on the inside were nipping on the heels of Bogale and Chepkwemoi as they approached the bell. Bogale moved to the front on the curve and reached the 1200m split in 3:18.34 with Mageean struggling at first to get around Chepkwemoi but then joining the battle with Bogale on the backstretch.

Now it was a two-woman race, as Chepkwemoi and Hasay were obviously struggling from the early-race efforts. Even Bogale and Mageean looked tired as they slogged up the homestretch, but Bogale pulled in to the lead and held on for the win in a PB 4:08.06. Mageean scored a national junior record and six-second PB in second, running 4:09.51; Chepkwemoi took third in 4:11.04 with Hasay outside the medals at 4:13.95 but improving on her fifth-place finish in 2008