Thursday, September 19, 2024

Lauren Cadden: Ireland Rome medallist among entries for Belfast meeting

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Seventy years after Roger Bannister became the first athlete to run a mile in under four minutes, the meeting will feature the classic four-lap distance as the competitors aim to commemorate the feat by producing another sub-four race.

Talented Lagan Valley 18-year-old Lughaidh Mallon and Nick Griggs’ training partner Callum Morgan will be among the athletes targeting the four-minute mark.

Mallon, who represented Ireland at last year’s European Under-20 Championships in Jerusalem and finished a superb 13th in the under-20 men at the European Clubs Cross Country event in March, has a 1500m personal best of 3:44.27 from last month so could potentially threaten the four-minute barrier.

Morgan bettered eight minutes for 3,000m outdoors for the first time in last month’s Belfast Irish Milers Meet at the Mary Peters Track and also will target a first sub-four performance, with his personal best of 4:01.07 set indoors in the US last February.

Other competitors in the mile include Irishman and Ciara Mageean’s boyfriend Thomas Moran, who did break the four-minute mark when he clocked 3:58.07 indoors in Boston five months ago.

The women’s 800m has the look of a good race with Greek national champion Eirini Vasileiou taking on French 2:03.29 Cindy Bourdier and precocious English talent Shaikira King in addition to Irish athletes Jenna Bromell and Iseult O’Donnell.

King produced the fastest ever 800m run by a British female 15-year-old when she clocked 2:02.60 at a British Milers Club event in Gillingham in April.

The programme will start at 12:00 BST at the Mary Peters Track.

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