Ciara Mageean has taken back the Irish 800 metres record, breaking the mark Louise Shanahan set last year, with a superb run at the British Milers Club meeting in Manchester on Saturday evening.
The Portaferry athlete crossed the line in 1.59.27, to knock 0.15 of a second off the record Shanahan had set in Belfast in May 2022.
Mageean finished second in a highly competitive race behind Australia’s Abbey Caldwell, who took victory in 1.58.92.
In a brilliant race, it was the first time two women athletes have broken two minutes for 800m at a British Milers Club meeting.
Mageean now regains the record she had broken in 2020, and now holds the national records over 800m and 1500m, having ran 3.56.63 last September in the latter, taking down Sonia O’Sullivan’s record that had lasted for 27 years.
The 31-year-old, who won European and Commonwealth silver medals last year, is building nicely toward the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August.
Earlier, Adam Nolan set a new national Under-20 record in the 110m hurdles. Nolan took the win at the Leinster junior, senior and masters championships in Carlow in a time of 13.89.
The 18-year-old took 0.06s off his previous personal best and national record that he ran at the Leinster schools track and field championships less than two weeks ago.
Prior to this month the record had been held by Matthew Behan (Crusaders A.C.), who clocked 13.99 eight years ago in Cork in 2015.
