Ciara makes C’wealth 1500m Final!
Thu 7 October 2010--admin
City of Lisburn’s Ciara Mageean has become the first member of the N. Ireland athletics squad in Delhi to secure a place in the final of their event following a great run this morning in the 1500m semis (6.20am BST). Running in the first semi and mixing it with Senior international athletes at this level for the first time, Ciara was always in the mix and produced her second fastest ever run for 4:12.11. This left her in 5th place and just outside the automatic top 4 qualification spots. With the 4 “fastest losers” spots also securing final places she was well placed but would have an anxious wait while watching the second semi featuring club-mate Kelly McNeice.
Knowing that a fast pace would give a better chance of qualification if outside the top 4 places, Kelly bravely took on the pace in the early stages in a race which included 2 Kenyans and a top English athlete. Ultimately the pace faded with Kelly finishing a still respectable 6th place in the run-in with 4:18.07 which unfortunately meant she had missed out on qualification. She has now got a day to recover before Saturday’s 800m heats.
Meanwhile, congratulations to 18 year old Ciara who goes in tomorrow (Friday’s) final at 2.15pm BST. Everyone in the club and Northern Ireland athletics wishes her well. Renowned as a gutsy racer, we hope she can perform well again tomorrow as she chases more glory for N. Ireland and possibly also a crack at her N. Ireland senior record of 4:09 given a fast race.