As opening races go, Ciara Mageean couldn't be feeling more satisfied, running an Irish record and World Indoor qualifying time over 1,500m at the Karlsruhe International meeting in Germany.
More importantly perhaps, it marks another major step forward for Mageean after several seasons dogged by injury. Still only 23, her 4:08.66 knocked over three seconds off Sinead Delahunty’s previous Irish indoor record of 4:11.06, set in 2000.
The UCD student grabbed third place in what was a classy international field, Ethiopia’s Axumawit Embaye winning in 4:08.22, with Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalf a stride ahead of Mageean.
Stronger and smarter
Mageean’s time knocked nine seconds of her own previous indoor best, with the promise of more to come. “Happy with my first race, plenty to learn from this though,” she said. “Next race I’ll be stronger and smarter.”
It also books her place on the Irish team for the World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon, on March 17-20th. Mageean has also got a Rio Olympic qualifying time in the bag thanks to the 4:06.49 she ran last summer.
Equally satisfied is Síofra Cléirigh Büttner, who posted a Villanova University and Irish under-23 record with her 2:03.74 over 800m at the Villanova invitational meeting at Staten Island, New York.
Again, the Irish under-23 record was bettered by a substantial margin, improving the 2:05.76 set four years ago by Ciara Everard.
The Villanova record will also mean a lot to Cléirigh Büttner, given its place in Irish distance running – including as the alma mater of Sonia O’Sullivan, who still holds the Irish outdoor 1,500m record with her 3:58.85, set in 1995, the only sub-four by an Irish woman.
The revelations over O’Sullivan’s Chinese conquerors in the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart, meanwhile, has prompted Athletics Ireland to seek further clarification from the IAAF.
Any potential upgrading of medals or results is still some distance off, although according to Athletics Ireland president Ciarán Ó Catháin, “we hope this can be resolved to finally bring an end to the uncertainty which has hung over the championships for so long”.
Central to any potential action by the IAAF is the verification of the letter, published by several Chinese news sources last Friday, penned two years after those championships, which claimed that nine of China’s most prominent women distance runners were forced to take “large doses of illegal drugs over the years” by their coach Ma Junren.
O’Sullivan was run out of all three medals by three Chinese women in the 3,000m, finishing fourth, before bouncing back to claim silver over 1,500m, again behind another Chinese women.
The IAAF have yet to comment further, other than stating: "The IAAF's first action must be to verify that the letter is genuine. The IAAF has asked the Chinese Athletics Association to assist it in that process. In any case, IAAF Competition Rule 263.3 (e) note (ii) states that if anyone makes an admission of guilt, the IAAF can take action."
