27-01-2025
Gill to return to Belfast after stunning 2024 win
Paris Olympian Phoebe Gill will return to this year's Belfast Irish Milers Meet after her record-breaking 800m performance at the meeting last then aged 17, smashed the 45-year-old European Under-18 800m record by clocking one minute 57.86 which cut almost four seconds off her previous personal Belfast victory started a run of remarkable performances by the St Albans athlete as she won the 800m at the British Championships and went on to reach the Olympic semi-finals in Paris. BBC Sport NI website's report of Gill's Belfast victory generated over 580,000 page plans to race over 1500m at this year's Belfast meeting which will take place at the Mary Peters Track on 10 Hertfordshire athlete's 1500m opponents will include Great Britain's double European Junior Cross Country champion Innes FitzGerald and another hugely talented English youngster Ava Lloyd who finished fifth over the distance at last year's World Under-20 Championships in athlete Erin Wallace finished second behind Gill in Belfast last year after clocking 2:00.23 and will aim to go one better in an 800m field which will include four-time Czech champion Kimberley Ficenec, who has a 2:00.68 personal best.
Last year's Belfast meeting held in sweltering conditions also produced a superb men's 800m as Great Britain's Callum Dodds went under one minute and 45 seconds for the first time in clinching victory in a track record of 1:44.79 which propelled him towards selection for the European will return to the Mary Peters Track where his 800m opponents will again include compatriot Tom Randolph who also went under the 1:45 mark when finishing second last 400m star Sharlene Mawdsley, who anchored her country to a dramatic mixed 4x400m relay gold at last year's European Championships and won silver in the women's 4x400m in Rome, has also signed up for the Belfast meeting. Mawdsley's opponents will include Great Britain's Isabelle Boffey, who has won 800m European U18, U20 and U23 titles, but will move down in distance to race the Irish Paris Olympian, who won the 400m at the Belfast meeting in director Eamonn Christie opened entries for the meeting on 19 January and they were totally filled within 15 minutes to emphasise the status of an event which again will have World Athletics Continental Tour status."Once again I'm overwhelmed at how quickly the event sold out," said Christie."I'm delighted at the calibre of athletes who have entered, including international, national and local athletes. To date we have entries from Spain, Holland, Denmark, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic as well as Ireland and Great Britain."
