'Role model' Ciara Mageean: Get out and support your girls

Ciara Mageean will head to Budapest shortly as part of the largest Irish team ever sent to the World Athletic Championships – and her message for Irish sports fans is: 'Get out and support your girls!'

The three-time European medallist heads to the Worlds in "the best shape I’ve ever been" at age 31 and will line up for her favoured 1500m against the best in the business for Saturday week’s heats. From there, she’ll be aiming to match her 2019 exploits where she overcame some blistering competition to make the final.

She steps on the plane in superb form having finally taken down Sonia O’Sullivan’s long-standing Irish Mile record in a white-hot race in Monaco a fortnight ago having served notice of her intent with an eye-catching season opener in Florence.

Mageean is clearly an athlete who takes her responsibilities off the track almost as seriously as her work between the white lines and, if medals and podium finishes remain the ultimate currency that represents success, the Portaferry woman is keenly aware of the importance of inspiring any athletes of the future who may be watching.

"I feel very lucky to be in a place that I can be role model for young girls and boys coming through," she said this week. "We as Irish people can be the best in the world and really hopefully this does have a legacy. Hopefully our media really take the bull by the horns.

"We have so many sports where it’s still not equal. I’m watching the golf and seeing Leona [Maguire] do absolutely fantastic and I want more coverage of that because I want to be able to just pick up the paper and read about it.

"We have our swimmers who have been absolutely excelling the moment and I want to see that because they’re not given as much coverage as other sports