Ciara Mageean set a new Irish 1500m record as she claimed victory at the Diamond League meeting in Brussels on Friday evening.
Mageean ran 3:56.63 as she beat Great Britain's Laura Muir into second. The run broke the Irish record of 3.58.85 which Sonia O'Sullivan set 27 years ago in Monaco.
It was Mageean's first time running under four minutes for the distance and took 3.52 seconds off the personal best which she had set three years ago during the World Championship final in Doha.
The Portaferry athlete was fifth at the bell but then made her move, quickly moving through the leaders before she took the lead coming off the final bend. Last month, Mageean won silver in the 1500m at the European Championships in Munich as she finished behind Muir.
Ciara Mageean breaks Irish 1500m record
"I expected to run fast and I actually had the national record of Sonia O´Sullivan, which is 3.58.85, on my mind," Mageean said after the race.
"I thought that I had it in me to beat that record and maybe run 3.57. However before this race a never ran under four minutes, so to run a time of 3.56.63 is something that blows my mind.
"People say that in athletics and in life every so often you have a day where you are completely in the zone. It doesn´t happen when you want to and you never know when it will happen. I can only say that this is how I felt today: I was in the zone and it felt like I was running on clouds.
"I´m so happy with this result and to be able to beat the national record of a legend like Sonia O´Sullivan is so special. For me winning a medal at a major championship is still the most important thing, but breaking a record is also something you want as an athlete. I can´t wait to celebrate this with my team and my family.
"I have to say that it has been a tough year for me. In January I had a calf injury, in April I changed coaches, which wasn´t planned, and just before the Commonwealth Games I had Covid. It wasn´t smooth, but it´s all about consistency. I worked so hard to become a steady competitor at the world level and once you get consistent every now and then you get a glistening day like today."
Congratultions @ciaramageean winning Brussels Diamond league 1500m and new Irish record old record nearly as old as Ciara is young . Great to be in the stand to witness such a great race by Ciara who has had a great season and was not afraid to lose tonight @Diamond_League pic.twitter.com/v5zFhuwNMh
— sonia osullivan (@soniaagrith) September 2, 2022
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