Ciara Mageean becomes first Irish woman to break the 2 minute barrier for 800m

For decades, the top female Irish middle distance athletes have been trying to break the two minute barrier for 800m. On Friday the 23rd of July 2020, Ciara Mageean became the first Irish woman to run under two minutes at a race in Bern, Switzerland.

The City of Lisburn AC athlete and Portaferry native broke the time barrier in 1:59.69 to claim first place in the 800m final, a full second ahead of Norway’s Hynne Hedda.

Ciara also broke her own previous time of 2:00.79, set in Dublin in 2016 and the Irish record of 2:00.58 which was set in 2013 by Rose-Anne Galligan at the London Anniversary Games.

In a recent interview before the event Ciara stated “It’s my first competition in five months and I can’t wait. I think this is the fittest I’ve ever been. The past few months have made me hungry again for the thrill of racing. In the past I often got so nervous and put so much pressure on myself that I didn’t enjoy racing very much. I’d step on the line with fear, worried how it might go. But now I have a different mindset: I’m excited to see what I can do.”

Top 10 Irish Female 800m Times...

1 NR 1:59.69 Ciara Mageean, Bern 23 Jul 2020
2 2:00.58 NR Rose-Anne Galligan, London 26 Jul 2013
3 2:00.69 NR Sonia O'Sullivan, Sankt Peterburg 28 Jul 1994
4 2:00.70 Caroline O'Shea, Cork 3 Jul 1984
5 2:00.93 Laura Crowe, Rieti 8 Sep 2013
6 2:01.14 Aisling Molloy, EC Split 27 Aug 1990
7 2:01.21 Ciara Everard, Oordegem 23 May 2015
8 2:01.61 Claire Mooney, Heusden 21 Jul 2018
9 2:01.67 Síofra Cléirigh, Büttner Watford 29 Jun 2019
10 2:01.89 NU23R Aoife Byrne, Namur 17 Aug 20

Video of the race...

Esto es histórico. Primer sub 2 minutos en los 800m hecho por una mujer irlandesa. La hazaña la ha hecho Ciara Mageean @ciaramageean esta noche. Enhorabuena 👏 👏 pic.twitter.com/59LC20Pfo0

— Sub4TrackClub (@AtletismoSub4) July 25, 2020