Breaking a major barrier and record in one swoop, Louise Shanahan produced a stunning run at the Belfast Irish Milers Meet on Saturday afternoon, taking down the Irish senior 800 metres record and beating previous record holder Ciara Mageean on the process.
Conditions at the leafy surrounds of the Mary Peters Track were ideal, and both runners made the most of them – Mageean taking up the running with a lap to go, only for Shanahan to edge past in the last 50 metres, winning in 1:59.42.
Only the second Irish woman to break the two-minute barrier, it improved Shanahan’s previous best 2:01.44, set on the same track last year, and also improved the Irish record of 1:59.69 which Mageean ran in 2020.
There was some reward for Mageean’s effort as she again dipped under two minutes, clocking 1:59.82, another bonus for Shanahan being it qualifies her for both the World and European Championships later this summer.
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- May 16, 2022
