As an image, it speaks louder than words — a rare gesture perhaps of complete faith in a world record performance which at other times might have left some looking away in disbelief.
Ciara Mageean is also central to it, among the dozen smiling, happy women cradling Faith Kipyegon across their arms, moments after the Kenyan runner obliterated the world record for the mile, by almost five full seconds, at the Monaco Diamond League on July 21st.
It was unquestionably the greatest women’s mile ever run, Kipyegon’s 4:07.64 improving the previous mark of 4:12.33 set by Dutch runner Sifan Hassan on the same Monaco track in 2019, while Mageean came through to nail second in 4:14.58, improving by almost three seconds the Irish record of 4:17.26 which had belonged to Sonia O’Sullivan since 1994.
I feel very lucky to be part of a really lovely women’s 1,500m group … even when we’re sitting together chatting to each other, they’re all really sound, and genuinely everybody is really invested in one another
— Ciara Mageean
Indeed each of the 13 women who finished ran either a world record, a national record, or a personal record, including the Ethiopian Freweyui Hailu, third 4:14.79, with Laura Muir running a new British mile record of 4:15.24 in fourth. It also moved Mageean up to fifth on the world all-time list.
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In the weeks prior, Kipyegon also broke the women’s 1,500m and 5,000m world records, beginning with a 3:49.11 in Florence on June 2nd — the first sub-50 — Mageean also coming home fourth in that race, running 4:00.95.
Scepticism around such performances might seem natural at a time when the Athletics Integrity Unit are suspending Kenyan distance runners on a regular basis.
For Mageean, however, there is little to doubt here, not when Kipyegon, now 29, a double Olympic and World Champion, has always had such record potential; there is also something uniquely close about women’s 1,500m running right now which further eliminates any great suspicion and underlines her own self-belief.
“Witnessing Faith’s world records this year has just been phenomenal,” says Mageean. “I feel very lucky to be part of a really lovely women’s 1,500m group. I actually don’t know if there are any other fields in athletics, I mean you often see in the multi-events … but the women’s ‘15, even when we’re sitting together chatting to each other, they’re all really sound, and genuinely everybody is really invested in one another.
“We sit, whenever we’re on the circuit, at the Diamond League, have food together, ask if anyone is doing a shakeout. And I feel that’s quite unusual, and lovely to see, and I’ve really enjoyed being a part of that.
“Faith is an absolutely fantastic woman … I’ve raced against her for a lot of years now, been in awe of her knowledge of our sport. Also the fact I could come off with a national record, which I would not expect her to know, and that she would shake my hand and congratulate me on that. So I am more than delighted for her to cross the line and for me to be able to give her an embrace and say you’re quite possibly are the greatest of all time, it’s an absolute privilege to toe the line with her.”
Not that Mageean is ignoring that spate of positive doping offences, or the fact the likes of defending world 100m hurdles champion Tobi Amusan is set to miss Budapest as she’s currently suspended for three whereabouts failures.
“In fairness to the Athletics Integrity Unit, they’re doing a great job. Just from my side and perspective, looking in, they seem to be really trying to be at the forefront in clamping down on the issues in our sport that all of the athletes want to be squashed out.
“I myself have been on the Athletics Integrity Unit testing for like two years now, I was always on the Irish system, then my performances deemed me eligible to be on the Athletics Integrity Unit testing. Sometimes I’m like it’s a privilege that you’ve reached the stage when they want to test you like that.
It’s the nature of sport, some people will want to cheat, and I don’t think you can ever completely eliminate that unfortunately
“I’ve really realised too within the Irish circuit, we are very well educated, the Sports Council do a fantastic job, in my opinion, in educating us as athletes about processes that we have to go through, about the integrity we should have, and what we should expect in the world of elite sport.
“It’s the nature of sport, some people will want to cheat, and I don’t think you can ever completely eliminate that unfortunately. But I’m glad to see they’re making some really big changes, and for me as a clean athlete, I’m delighted that they’re doing that, and athletes really have to be held accountable for any actions that they’ve made.”
Speaking from her high-altitude training base in St Moritz, fully recovered from the injury which forced her to miss last month’s National Championships, Mageean feels her experiences of last year — winning silver in the European Championships and Commonwealth Games, before winning the Brussels Diamond League 1,500m in an Irish record of 3:56.63 — has further primed her for the demands of Budapest, including chasing another podium place.
“That’s everyone’s ultimate goal, I suppose. But for me, I’m just going out there ready to go to battle in Budapest. I’m prepared to toe the line and give my all, the same as I ever do, and I know as I said that I can mix it with the best in the world and I can cover moves and can really deal with whatever is put in front of me.
“So whatever the outcome of that will be, will be, but I know I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been, and I’ll do everything out on that track so it’s a very exciting place to be. It is probably the most excited I have ever been for a championship.”
