Irish athlete, Ciara Mageean, dies of cancer at 34 years of age

Irish middle-distance runner Ciara Mageean, who represented her country at two Olympic Games, has died at 34 after battling stage four bowel cancer. The 2024 European 1,500m champion had announced her diagnosis in July 2025.Ireland's Ciara Mageean dies of cancer. (Reuters Photo)New Delhi,Nov 1, 2026 17:07 ISTIrish middle-distance runner Ciara Mageean, a European 1,500m champion and two-time Olympian, has died at the age of 34 after battling cancer.Mageean's death was announced in a statement on her social media accounts on Sunday. The athlete had revealed in July 2025 that she had been diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer."At 6:30am this morning, Ciara lost her battle with cancer surrounded by her loved ones," the statement read."A beloved daughter, sister, wife, friend and inspiration to so many, she will be deeply missed." This is how we'll remember Ciara. Never ever ever gave up. https://t.co/USdqOji6u1— Conor O'Neill (@conoro) November 1, 2026 Mageean was one of Ireland's most successful middle-distance runners, with the biggest moment of her career coming at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome, where she won gold in the women's 1,500m.She represented Ireland at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She was also set to compete at the Paris Olympics in 2024 but was forced to withdraw a day before her opening heat due to an Achilles injury. Alongside her European title, Mageean won bronze in the 1,500m at the 2016 European Championships and silver in 2022. She also claimed a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.Her death comes just over a year after she publicly shared news of her cancer diagnosis, prompting tributes from across the athletics community.- Ends