Ciara Mageean (City of Lisburn A.C.) has smashed the national mile record that had been held by Sonia O’Sullivan for 29 years this evening.
Competing at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco, Mageean stormed to an incredible second place finish clocking a time of 4.14.58 to knock nearly three seconds off O’Sullivan’s best for the distance.
The 31-year-old was in contention for a good finishing position with a lap to go and kicked strongly in the closing stages to move past world-class athletes including British rival Laura Muir.
Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon took victory in a new world record time of 4.07.64.
The Down woman’s latest national record follows on from the 1500m record (3.56.63) she set last year and the 800m record (1.59.27) she ran at the end of May.
Despite being a less commonly ran distance on the track, Mageean’s mile time is the second fastest in the world this year and the fastest so far by a European.
