Ciara Mageean, an Irish runner who set national records in the 800 meters, mile, and 1500 meters, died November 1, according to a social media post from her family. Mageean was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in May 2025. She competed in two Olympics, in 2016 and 2021, in the 1500 meters, but she could not race at the Games in 2024, due to an Achilles injury.
The timing of that injury was unfortunate, because from 2023 to early 2024, Mageean was at the height of her powers. In 2023, she ran personal bests in the mile (4:14.58) in June and 1500 meters (3:55.87) in September. That PR came en route to a victory at the Brussels Diamond League meet.
In May of 2024, she ran 1:58.51 for 800 meters and the next month, she won the European Championships 1500 meters. Her final professional race was a Diamond League 2,000 meters in July 2024 in Monaco. Mageean announced her cancer in a July 2025 post on Instagram, in which only her right arm, hooked up to a tube, was visible.
The Olympic rings were tattooed on the inside of her wrist. In June, Mageean released a book, My Greatest Race, about her cancer diagnosis. It became an all-Ireland bestseller.
Mageean was sponsored by New Balance, and at times, New Balance Boston athletes would cross paths with Mageean during altitude training stints in Flagstaff, Arizona. Pierre said she admired how tenacious Mageean was, training hard even when she couldn’t run due to injury. That’s a really tough part of the sport, but something that really that stood out to me.” Across the elite running world, athletes took to social media to pay tribute to Mageean, who had married Thomas Moran a few weeks ago in Belfast.
Mageean posted photos from her wedding on Instagram six days ago. Mark Coogan, coach of New Balance Boston, remembers enjoying a Guinness after the New Balance Indoor Games and laughing with Mageean. Mageean set her mile national record in the race where Faith Kipyegon of Kenya set the world record.
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