Mageean targeting European podium

After a flying start to the season, Ciara Mageean is optimistic about her medal chances at next month’s European Indoor Championships in Glasgow, where the 26-year-old is set to take on home favourite Laura Muir over 1500m.

Mageean targeting European podium

After a flying start to the season, Ciara Mageean is optimistic about her medal chances at next month’s European Indoor Championships in Glasgow, where the 26-year-old is set to take on home favourite Laura Muir over 1500m.

Mageean has been in splendid form of late, breaking her own Irish indoor mile record in Boston last month with 4:28.31 before finishing a fine second over 1500m at the World Indoor Tour meeting in Madrid.

However, Wednesday night’s Athlone IT International Grand Prix saw her reach a new level as she smashed her Irish indoor 1500m record to take victory in 4:06.76.

That puts her fourth in the world for 1500m in 2019, and the manner of the victory has many viewing her as a potential medallist at next month’s championships.

“It’s obviously very hard because the British girls are running well, but I want to be there in the final,” she said. “In every championship I go to, you’re always there to try medal and I want to put myself up there.”

The key to Mageean’s strong start has been a consistent winter of endurance training, which has been a key emphasis for her Manchester-based coach Steve Vernon since taking command of her career towards the end of 2017.

“Ciara needed to become a lot more aerobically strong and that’s what we worked on, so she can put races back to back, put hard training back to back and be consistent,” said Vernon.

I think if she can be consistent for 12 months, two years, she can run very, very well.”

Mageean raised her training volume to more than 70 miles a week throughout the winter, and she will put her endurance base to the test in this weekend’s Irish Life Health National Indoor Championships in Abbotstown.

While Mageean should take victory in tomorrow’s 3000m final, it’s unlikely to be a facile affair given the presence of defending champion Sarah Healy, who clocked 4:16.98 to finish sixth behind Mageean on Wednesday over 1500m.

It will be Mageean’s last race before the European Indoors in two weeks’ time, and the Portaferry athlete feels there is still some fine-tuning left to do before she travels to Glasgow.

“There’s an awful lot more depth to go,” she said. “We did a lot of strength work over the Christmas period and hopefully it’ll stand to me. Obviously the big goal is [the World Championships in] Doha, but I want to do well at Euro indoors. It’s looking good.”

Britain’s Muir is expected to prove an unstoppable force if showing up in her best shape, the Scottish athlete announcing last week that she will defend both her 1500m and 3000m titles in Glasgow.

And while Mageean will have a cadre of high-calibre rivals in her hunt for a medal, she believes it’s possible.

“I’ll try my best, get in the best shape I can and hopefully get through to the final,” she said. “It’s anyone’s game from there.”

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