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‘Ciara Mageean is the queen of our team' – Sarah Lavin's heartfelt tribute to Irish ace amid cancer fight

SARAH LAVIN says Ciara Mageean 'doesn't leave her mind' after learning that her fellow athlete has cancer. Mageean, 33, Advertisement 2 Ciara Mageean became a European champion in June 2024 2 Lavin was speaking at an event to announce SPAR and EUROSPAR as Official Retail Partners to the Olympic Federation of Ireland Credit: Sportsfile The European 1500 metre champion — who Hurdler Lavin, two years her junior, admitted she had been stunned by the news and stressed how much the Portaferry woman had been a rock for her and others on Team Ireland. Lavin said: 'Ciara is the queen of our team. She has always been such a stellar person and is obviously one of our most prolific athletes. 'She's your safe person that you talk to before your race and makes you feel better. She's a very special person, an incredible athlete and she doesn't leave my mind at the moment. Advertisement Read More On Irish Sport 'What can you say? There's just shock and I'm sending everything possible, well wishes and healing, her way.' Earlier, the Limerick woman — who has competed at the last two Games — stressed how the camaraderie among Irish competitors across sport has reached a new high. Lavin said: 'There was a camaraderie level to Paris that really has held. That's also testament to Team Ireland and the actual body. 'They're so people-focused. We need to deliver results, perform and be operating at the highest possible level. Advertisement Most read in Athletics 'But we're human and it's really important that we see each other as humans and that we're there for each other.' Their exploits have also struck a chord with the public with Lavin targeting a place in the final of the 100m hurdles at the World Championships in Tokyo in September. Donald Trump reveals he's keeping Club World Cup trophy after gatecrashing Chelsea celebrations as Blues get replica And she believes track and field is now being viewed as a desirable career option in a way it had not when she was growing up. The Lisnagry woman explained: 'I don't know if that's to do with social media. It's a fantastic sport for girls to participate in and is an attractive lifestyle. Advertisement 'It's difficult but if you're going to try to be one of the best in the world at what you do, it's going to be hard. 'But the fact you can be financially independent for yourself is a really important message that young girls can get. Growing up for me, the only visibility we had was pop stars and models. 'That was what was deemed to be attractive. We would make dances and stuff. And for guys, they wanted to play for Manchester United or Liverpool and they were your two dreams. 'What's really special is going out and seeing people want to be athletes, they want to be a professional athlete and to think that every young girl could believe that they could be a professional athlete. Advertisement 'Everyone's human and it's not just someone you see on the TV, there's someone there on the track.' NATIONALS PLAN Lavin revealed she is likely to race in the 200m flat, rather than the 100m, as well as in the hurdles, at the National Championships at the start of August because of a scheduling issue. She said: 'Ideally, I will run the two days of nationals. But they have changed the 100m in the timetable. "There will only be ten minutes between the 100m hurdles and the 100m so I don't know if that's going to be possible. Advertisement "I might go for the 200m on the Sunday. If a few of the 400m girls go in it, it'll end up being a really good race.' SARAH LAVIN spoke at an event to announce SPAR and EUROSPAR as official retail partners to the Olympic Federation of Ireland. The partnership will see the leading retail group support Team Ireland as they build towards and compete at the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.