Ciara Mageen: Irish athlete ‘very motivated’ to compete at 2028 Los Angeles Olympics

Magin’s forced withdrawal was the latest chapter in a series of Olympic heartbreaks for the athlete from Portaferry in Northern Ireland.

The County Down woman narrowly missed out on making the final of her event in 2016, with a calf injury suffered a week before her race at the postponed Tokyo Games forcing her to drop out at the first call.

This year she won the 1500m at the European Championships in Rome in June, but has struggled for form at Diamond League meets in Monaco and Paris in the run-up to the Games.

“I have been suffering from an ankle problem for many years, this is not a new phenomenon for me,” Magin explained.

“For the past eight years I have been suffering from pain in my right ankle, which ranges from mild discomfort when doing everyday activities, to complete inability to physically run and sit on stairs, wondering if I would be able to continue if I had to retire from the sport.

“It was always about micro-managing around my ankle and the summer was going well, the European Championships were obviously phenomenal and I was delighted to finally get that gold medal.”

Subsequently, preparations for the Olympic Games progressed until persistent ankle pain after training two weeks before the Games led to the difficult decision to withdraw from the Paris 2024 Games.

“I had two injections in my ankle, in opposite directions, to see if we could relieve the pain, but unfortunately that didn’t happen, leaving me with a decision to make the day before I’m about to start my third Olympics which I will have to retreat.

“Making this decision has been absolutely heartbreaking and devastating. The fact that I didn’t know I could complete the race was a major factor. I knew I couldn’t handle it on my own. justice is there.”