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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
Sport
Robert Hynes and Staff reporter

What time and TV channel is Ciara Mageean running in the 1500m final of European Championships today?

Ciara Mageean is aiming for gold when she runs in the 1,500 metres final at the European Championships on Friday evening.

The Co Down native secured her place in the final after coming second in Tuesday's semi-finals.

Having led at halfway, she was able to ease up towards the end as she was assured of a top four placing and therefore automatic progression.

READ MORE: Ciara Mageean outlines toll Covid took on her body ahead of Commonwealth Games

Despite that, it was still a season's-best time of 4:03.03 for Mageean.

It continues a rich vein of form for her on the back of her silver medal over the same distance at the Commonwealth Games.

The 1,500 metres final is scheduled to start at 7.45pm Irish time on Friday. Coverage is available on BBC and RTE.

And Mageean is confident that she can win gold.

She told reporters in Munich ahead of the race: "I believe I’m one of the best athletes in that field and I’m going to go out and prove it.

"You put yourself up there and if you don’t get gold, hopefully it’s silver, and if you don’t get silver hopefully it’s bronze."

Mageean recently revealed the toll that Covid 19 took on her body in the build-up to her silver medal-winning Commonwealth Games performance.

“Look, I’ve had a bit of an experience with Covid this season," said the Portaferry athlete.

"It was certainly something that affected me directly in the build-up to the Commonwealth Games."

Ciara Mageean of Team NI celebrates winning the silver medal in the women's 1500m final at the Commonwealth Games (Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Mageean got the virus ahead of the national championships and had to sit them out and, while she had to take 10 days off, she looks back on that as maybe a blessing in disguise having already made the tough decision to sit out the World Championships in Oregon around that time.

"It didn’t do me any harm," she reflected.

"I’m still running very well, it helped with the little niggles I get now as an old athlete - they like to refer to me as mature and experienced on the Irish team!".

However Mageean, who ran for Northern Ireland in the Commonwealths and represents Ireland in Munich, said that the virus affected her "an awful lot", particularly her menstrual cycle.

"I was on my third period of the month going into the Commonwealth Games," she said.

"I’m always happy to discuss it, it’s an important thing to discuss. It’s probably a real indicator of female athlete health, is a regular period, and I have a very healthy period, it comes once a month and I know exactly when it's coming.

"So when I got Covid, I had three periods in a space of a month so that does throw you a bit. To have that third one, I messaged my teammates, ‘Great, here’s another period for the month."

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