Analysis by BBC Sport NI’s Andy Gray in Paris:
“On the eve of her heats, Ciara Mageean’s withdrawal is the latest in a number of Olympic heartbreaks for the county Down athlete.
Despite her success in other major events, Mageean had yet to reach a final in her previous two Games – she didn’t make it out of the heats in Tokyo after injuring her calf a week before racing.
However, she was heading to Paris after winning the European Championships in June, with dreams of putting things right on the sport’s biggest stage.
Speaking to her mother, Catherine, before coming to Paris, you could sense the excitement for the entire family in what could be a final Olympics for the 32-year-old.
Or, in true Mageean fashion when she has had to dig deep after injuries in the past – she could press on and use it as fuel for a last hurrah in Los Angeles.
It is also particularly cruel given the multiple successes for athletes from Northern Ireland and Team Ireland so far in Paris.
While she would have been going in a stacked 1500 metre field, Mageean deserved to ride that wave of success in Paris after being a trailblazer for so long.