Mageean has ability to go the distance

ATHLETICS/National Indoor Championships:Even without the so-called headline acts there were several eye-catching performances at this weekend's National Indoor championships, staged at The Odyssey in Belfast.

Fittingly, one of those was 15-year-old Ciara Mageean, who took the opportunity to announce her arrival as one of the country's most promising distance runners.

Mageean won the 1,500 metres in 4:24.07, knocking over two seconds off the national junior record and finishing almost three seconds clear of the second-placed Roseanne Galligan.

It was Galligan, in fact, who held the previous junior record, 4:26.52, set two years ago, but a senior victory for Mageean, who runs for the City of Lisburn club and is also a highly competent camogie player, clearly underlines her exciting potential.

There were also two national senior records over the weekend, both on Saturday, starting with Robert Heffernan in the 5,000-metre walk.

Already qualified for the Beijing Olympics in the 20km walk, the Corkman was just back from a training stint in Spain and looked in superb shape as he finished in 18:51.46 - just inside his own record of 18:53.09, set in 2002.

Heffernan was later rewarded with the performance of the championships, and it was well deserved - with Jamie Costin, also Beijing-bound, a long way back in second in 20:56.49.

In fact, Heffernan lapped the entire field at least twice.

"This is a step towards the main goal, as my focus is on China," he said.

"It's all about staying healthy. There is really no need to overdo it in training. After all, I'm not doing any more than I was doing at this time last year."

Later, Kelly Proper improved by three centimetres her own indoor long-jump record, set just two weeks ago in Nenagh, with a winning leap of 6.28 metres - and yesterday there was a championship-best performance by Kieran Kelly, who won the men's shot with a throw of 18.20 metres.

The championships doubled as the early trials for the World Indoor championships, set for Valencia in Spain on the first weekend in March, and one athlete who has come back from semi-retirement to put himself in contention for selection is Peter Coghlan, who won the 60-metre hurdles in a highly respectable 7.80 seconds.

The 33-year-old Dubliner is now just shy of the 7.75 standard for Valencia and at this rate could yet be in contention for an Olympic qualifying time.

Also looking in fine shape was Gareth Turnbull, who won the 3,000 metres with a solo effort of 8:06.10, though the Belfastman isn't planning any further indoor races - "That was a one-night-only special," he said.

Turnbull leaves soon for the US to focus his training on the 3:36.0 Olympic qualifying standard for 1,500 metres.

The 800 metres went to the former Belfast local James McIlroy, who briefly ran for Ireland before switching allegiance to Britain, in what was a highly charged race: McIlroy, however, had the finish to hold off Kenya's guest entry Richard Kiplagat, to win in 1:49.61

In the sprints, Ailis McSweeney showed an excellent return to form when taking second in the 60 metres in 7.46, just down on Britain's guest winner, Anyika Onuora.

The men's high jump saw another guest, the American Jamie Nieto, set an Irish all-comers record of 2.26 metres.

The men's long jump eventually went to Dublin's Stephen Fleming, who held off the efforts of Jaroslav Dobrovodsky from Slovakia to win with 7.26 metres.

In the US, meanwhile, the indoor season really heated up at the Boston Indoor Games.

Ethiopia's Meseret Defar set a women's world best of 9:10.50 for two miles, and Australia's Craig Mottram set an American all-comers and Australian national record of 7:34.50 over 3,000 metres - two stunning times so early in the season.

At the same meeting, Ireland's James Nolan finished third in the men's mile in 4:01.06, behind the Mexico's Pablo Solares (4:00.34), with Róisín McGettigan also third in the women's mile in 4:33.96, behind the American Jenelle Deatherage (4:32.95).

Finally, Vinnie Mulvey of the host club won the Raheny Shamrock five-mile road race yesterday, clocking 23:37, with Dundrum's Maria McCambridge winning the women's race in 26.20.