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What a run from Mageean. Morgan Treacy/INPHO

Ciara Mageean wins 1500m silver at European Championships

Just beforehand, Mark English qualified for the 800m final as an automatic qualifier.

IRELAND’S CIARA MAGEAAN has secured a superb 1500m silver medal at the European Championships.

Mageean ran another brilliant season’s best time of 4:02.56 to land Ireland’s first track medal in Munich, finishing just behind Great Britain superstar Laura Muir.

Her long-time rival Muir clocked a time of 4:01.08, having been pushed all the way by the Portaferry powerhouse. Sofia Ennaoui of Poland took bronze in 4:03.59.

The in-form Mageean, buoyed by her recent silver medal at the Commonwealth Games, produced another hugely impressive run.

Like the semi-final, in which she also recorded a season’s best and was edged out only by Ennaoui, she moved to the top with a nice pace set.

Mageean took control and aggressively led from the front, as Muir typically clicked through the gears before moving towards the top herself. A real dogfight unfolded just like their recent Commonwealth Games showdown, the pair neck-in-neck in battle.

The Scot made a big break just before the bell, the gutsy Mageean went with her, but it was Muir’s day once more despite one of the best displays the Irishwoman has ever produced.

The pair lay on the track side-by-side afterwards, the immense mutual respect evident for all to see, while Mageean celebrated jubilantly with the tricolour thereafter.

Just beforehand, Mark English qualified for the 800m final as an automatic qualifier.

The Donegal man finished third in his semi-final in a time of 1:46.66 after a controlled run.

Mariano García of Spain won it out in 1:46.52 and Jake Wightman of Great Britain was second in 1:46.61, as the first three in each semi-final and the next two fastest overall advanced to Sunday’s final.

Andreas Kramer of Sweden won the first semi-final in 1:48.37, with Simone Barotini (Italy) and Benjamin Robert (France) home in second and third, as Ben Pattison (GB) and Eliott Crestan (Belgium), both from English’s race, also progressed, with some big names absent.

Setting off from Lane 6, English and co. went out fast. Looking cool and confident, he hugged the inside and was fourth at the halfway point, showing tactical awareness before cruising home.

“Feeling really relieved more than anything,” English told RTÉ afterwards, while staying coy on his final ambitions: “I had my own aims coming into these championship, I’ll keep them to myself but I’ll tell you after!”

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