Ciara Mageean wins 1500m race and sets new Irish Junior record...

On Saturday (20th Aug 2011), Ciara Mageean (City of Lisburn AC) won the IMC Grand Prix Final in Birmingham in a time of 4.07.45, beating Jessica Simpson who was second in 04:07.53. Not only did she win but she also improved on her own Irish Junior 1500m record  of 4:09.51 which she set last year in Canada when finishing 2nd at the World Junior Championships.

IMC Birmingham GP Final - 20 Aug - Results
 1 184 10 04:07.45 Ciara Mageean U20 City Of Lisburn / Ireland
2 188 14 04:07.53 Jemma Simpson Newquay & Par
3 186 12 04:11.74 Jennifer Wenth U23 Austria

In fact that time was so fast that she is now the 4th fastest woman in the Irish All Time list for 1500 metres and she is still only 19 years old.

To put that in context, here are the only Irish women to have run 1500 metres faster than 4:10...
1) 3.58.85...Sonya O'Sullivan
2) 4.04.22...Sinead Delahunty
3) 4.06.69...Monica Joyce
4) 4.07.45...Ciara Mageean (New)
5) 4.07.56...Freda Davoren
6) 4.08.63...Mary Purcell
7) 4.08.89...Deirdre Byrne
8) 4.09.12...Elaine Ftzgerald
9) 4.09.51...Ciara Mageean (Old)

When you plot those times as a graph, you can see how they compare. Obviously, Sonya O'Sullivan is in a league of her own with no one else getting close.
However, when you look at the numbers in white...this is their age when they ran their fastest times. The best times seem to have been produced when most were around 25-27 years old. Considering that Ciara Mageean is just 19 years old and is already 4th fastest woman, she must be a name to watch in the years ahead.

Video clip of the race HERE