Ciara Mageean is among the guests on Friday night's Late Late Show. The Portaferry athlete will sit down with Patrick Kielty to reflect on what has been a year like no other for the 32-year-old.
She won gold at the European Championships back in June before injury ended her Olympic dream in heartbreaking fashion. But she isn't giving up that dream just yet...
Here's what Mageean has said about her Olympic heartbreak, the death of her former coach and the role her boyfriend has played in her success:
Olympic heartbreak
A long-standing achilles issue flared up at the worst time for Mageean during the summer and caused her to miss the Olympics.
She had two cortisone injections into her ankle but during a heart to heart with her boyfriend Thomas, she made the hardest call of all.
However, she plans on coming back for the full Olympic cycle as she eyes Los Angeles in 2028.
"I have certainly chatted to other athletes in the past who approached Olympic Games knowing it was going to be their last, whereas I knew I've been on an upward tangent for the past few years," Mageean said last month.
"So I was definitely aiming not to retire after this Olympic Games. I was always determined to continue - and I always will be until the point where, 'OK, I'm not getting faster and I'm going to hang up the spikes'.
"But I will say how it finished has given me extra fire in my belly for this next Olympic cycle. So it didn't change my goal - but the fuel has certainly enhanced.
"A lot of people thought I was going to retire, especially because I was so quiet (after withdrawing from Paris just days before the heats).
"I believe nearly my own father would have preferred it. I can remember my daddy had his arm around me and he’s like, 'right we’ll call it a day...you come home, you go watch the hurling with me, you can get a dog finally and be done with all this'.
"And much to my father’s dismay maybe - no, I know he’ll be delighted - I said, ‘what are you talking about, I’m not retiring yet, there’s another Olympics in four years time and I’ve only gotten faster over the past few years, so I’m determined to be back'.
"This has given me an opportunity - sometimes you need a catalyst for change. The really tough end to the summer made me take account of a few things and say, 'do you know what? I'm making a couple of changes, I’m having the surgery to fix the ankle, I’m moving home to be close to family and friends to build a team around me that will help nurture me on that next goal'.
"I want to really draw on all that strength because I think throughout my career, my connection to home and the pride that I have in the Irish vest has been a super-power.
"And I think for me having my feet back on Irish soil will be a super-power too. I’m really excited for this next chapter in Belfast - and Ciara 3.0. I’m excited for that path going forward."
European gold medal win
Just months before her Olympic dream ended in tears, Mageean won gold over 1500m at the European Championships in June.
Mageean turned in a performance for the ages to pick up the victory at the iconic Stadio Olimpico in Rome, becoming the first Irish track star to win gold at the European Championships in an individual event since Sonia O'Sullivan in 1998.
"Words can't even come close to describing how I feel. Everyone back home knows how long I've been doing this and how hard I've been trying," she said immediately afterwards.
"I was super nervous but I had a plan and a mission - to hear Amhran na bhFiann on top of the podium.
"I wanted to do this for Ireland. I love everyone at home to bits. We did it!''
Death of coach
Mageean's ex-coach Jerry Kiernan passed away suddenly in early 2021. The former Olympian and two-time Dublin Marathon winner coached Mageean from 2013-2017, with the duo parting ways once she moved to Manchester.
The pair remained good friends, and when Kiernan died, his former pupil penned an emotional tribute to her 67-year-old mentor.
"There will be a few people who walk through your life and leave lasting footprints in your heart," wrote Mageean on Twitter at the time.
"Jerry Kiernan was one of those people. I feel truly blessed and privileged to have been able to call him my coach and friend."
"Thank you Jerry, for everything."
Boyfriend's role in her success
Thomas Moran, Mageean's long-term partner, has been credited by the runner for his role in her success.
They met at UCD as they were both part of the athletics team although he was never an elite calibre athlete like her. He did win the Griffith Avenue mile in 2019 though.
She has praised him in multiple interviews for being extremely supportive of her athletics career even though it makes their relationship much tougher with her having to travel so much and also give so much of her time and effort to training.
She said in 2022: “I put all of my focus in life into my athletics.
"My boyfriend moved to Manchester to be with me because he knew I wasn’t going to go back to Ireland.
"It’s a very selfish life that I live but I look forward to that next stage of life when I don’t necessarily have to be that selfish."
And after her European gold win in June, she told how Thomas is always there to listen, stating: "I said to my boyfriend earlier today that I'm looking forward to going training this year... I wanted to do this for Ireland. I love everyone at home to bits. We did it."
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