‘She doesn't leave my mind at the moment' – Sarah Lavin's thoughts with Ciara Mageean following cancer diagnosis

Irish Independent

16-07-2025

Mageean publicly shared her shock diagnosis on Instagram earlier this month and wrote that she had started treatment.
Lavin has been part of numerous Ireland squads with Mageean, including last year's European Championships where the Portaferry athlete won her European gold as well as the squad for the Paris Olympics when Mageean had to withdraw on the eve of her heat with an Achilles injury.
Lavin says she was shocked to hear about Mageean's diagnosis.
'Complete and utter shock. Ciara is the queen of our team. She has always been such a stellar person, obviously one of our most prolific athletes ever,' Lavin said.
'She's your safe person that you go to talk to and that you go to before your race and eases you and makes you feel better. She's a very special person. Obviously an incredible athlete and she doesn't leave my mind at the moment.
'Just shock and sending everything possible, well wishes and healing, her way because it's just the injustice of life sometimes isn't it?'
Lavin has been working with a new consultant biomechanist this year in an effort to break her national record and run as fast as she can in the 100m hurdles at the World Championships in Tokyo in September.
Paul Brice is a former sprint hurdler who competed for Great Britain at junior and senior level and was part of London Olympic champion Jessica Ennis's specialist team.
Along with her long-standing coach Noelle Morrissey, Brice is helping Lavin get up to speed sooner for the first hurdle which means altering her take-off point.
They reviewed data and noted that her flight time over hurdle one was 0.330 when competitors can do it in 0.2/0.229.
With her national record of 12.62 from the 2023 World Championships, Lavin believes she needs to run 12.5 to make the final in Tokyo.
'The biggest thing was I was getting too close to the first hurdle and then skying it so my angle of projection was off, not to get too technical about it.
'But we've pulled me back a little bit so the difference of me taking off at one metre 87 versus two metres is massive with regards to flight time. It's 0.15 on just one hurdle so it's just being able to do that consistently.
'It's really, really wonderful when it's working well and incredibly frustrating when you don't do it right. The first few races, you're trying to find confidence in that also and faith and trust in the change.
'But I do believe we're on the right path and so it's been enjoyable up to this point.'
Lavin was the sole Irish winner at last month's European Athletics Team Championships in Slovenia where she won the 100m hurdles in 12.82, just outside her season's best of 12.76.
At the National Championships next month, Lavin is likely to double up for the 100m hurdles and the 200m as the schedule might inhibit her doing the 100m and 100m hurdles.
If a 400m specialist like Sharlene Mawdsley or Sophie Becker decides to drop down to the 200m, it could make for a tasty head-to-head at Santry.
'I can see me running the 200m and the 100m hurdles. I will be terrified. When you see me on the start line for the 200m, just know that the fear of god is within me.
'If a few of the 400m girls go in it, it'll end up being a really good race.'
*Sarah Lavin was speaking at an event to announce SPAR and EUROSPAR as official retail partners to the Olympic Federation of Ireland.