Former European champion and two-time Olympian Ciara Mageean has died at the age of 34. Mageean, from Portaferry in Northern Ireland, was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in May 2025. She represented Ireland at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, but was forced to withdraw from the 2024 Paris Games because of an Achilles injury.
Earlier in 2024, Mageean clinched the first major title of her career when she took 1500m gold at the European Championships in Rome. Prior to that, she represented Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games, winning 1500m silver at Birmingham 2022. A statement posted on her social media said she passed away surrounded by her loved ones.
Athletics Ireland expressed heartbreak, calling her an inspiration. Mageean married her long-term partner Thomas Moran in October. A talented athlete from a young age, she played camogie for Portaferry GAC before pursuing athletics.
Her junior career yielded 1500m silvers at the 2010 World Junior Championships and 2011 European Junior Championships. She also reached the 2010 Commonwealth Games 1500m final as an 18-year-old. Mageean won the Irish 1500m title in 2014 after recovering from a serious ankle injury.
She claimed 1500m bronze at the 2016 European Championships and a European Indoor bronze in 2019. She broke Sonia O'Sullivan's Irish 1,000m record in 2020 and won European and Commonwealth silver in 2022. In 2023, she finished fourth at the World Championships and was named BBC Northern Ireland Sports Personality of the Year.
Mageean secured her biggest win at the 2024 European Championships in Rome, victory in 4:04.66.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing