In Rome, she won the gold medal in the 1500 metres at the 2024 European Championships. One of Europe’s best middle-distance specialists, Ireland’s Ciara Mageean, has passed away at just 34. “At 6:30 this morning, Ciara lost her battle with cancer surrounded by her loved ones,” reads the announcement posted on the athlete’s social media profiles, who had made her illness public in July 2025 and chronicled her new life in the book “My Greatest Race.” At the European Championships in the capital, Mageean achieved the greatest success of her career, completing her collection of continental medals following her bronzes in Amsterdam 2016 and Glasgow 2019, and silver in Munich 2022.
She took part four times in the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea, always in the 1500 meters: in 2017 in Rome, in 2021 in Florence, in 2022 at the Stadio Olimpico, and in 2023 again in Florence, finishing fourth in the historic race marked by Kenyan Faith Kipyegon’s world record. Her bond with Italy began in 2009, when she made a name for herself as a young athlete by winning the silver medal in the 800 meters at the World U18 Championships in Bressanone.
Deeply saddened by the news, FIDAL President Stefano Mei, speaking on behalf of the Federal Council and all of Italian athletics, extends his deepest condolences to Ciara Mageean’s family and to Athletics Ireland.