Ciara Mageean: Covid rules Portaferry woman out of Irish Championships with Reid also an absentee

Ciara Mageean will miss this weekend's Irish National Championships in Dublin after contracting Covid 19 while Leon Reid will be another notable absentee.

Mageean's most recent run saw her earn a fine fourth in the 1500m at the Rome Diamond League meeting on 10 June.

Athletics Ireland said earlier on Thursday that Mageean had been ruled out by injury but she later released a statement confirming she has Covid 19.

Reid, meanwhile, has not entered this weekend's championships at Santry.

"Unfortunately I have had to withdraw from this year's Irish Championships due to Covid," said Mageean on her Instagram account.

"My focus is on getting fit and healthy again ahead of the big summer of racing.

"I want to wish every athlete the best of luck this weekend and here's to a special 150th Irish National Track and Field Championships."

After a calf injury cut short her indoor season this year, the 30-year-old Portaferry woman regrouped to produce a series of fine early outdoors season performances, which included going under two minutes for 800m at the Belfast Irish Milers Meet, when pipped by new Irish record holder Louise Shanahan.

Bristol-based sprinter Reid has raced sparingly so far this summer although, like Mageean, he has been named in Northern Ireland's athletics team for the Commonwealth Games in July.

But with the 27-year-old not racing this weekend, his chances of competing for Ireland at the European Championships in August appear to be receding.

The 2018 Commonwealth Games 200m bronze medallist was cleared to continue his international career by Athletics Ireland in May - three months after being found guilty of allowing his flat in Bristol to be used to produce crack cocaine which resulted in him receiving a suspended sentence and also being ordered to do 220 hours of unpaid work.

Northern Ireland's Commonwealth Games team members Kate O'Connor, Sommer Lecky and Ellie McCartney will be in action in the 150th edition of the championships.

Heptathlete O'Connor has entered several events including the 200m, javelin, long jump, high jump and shot putt although she is unlikely to compete in all of them.

Castlederg woman Lecky, who won World Under-20 silver medal in 2018 when she jumped 1.90m, will be hoping for a good performance in the high jump with her best leap so far this season a 1.83m at last month's Belfast International.

Pole vaulter McCartney booked her Commonwealth Games spot by bettering the consideration standard of 4.19m on three occasions this year which included her personal best leap of 4.24m in February.

Tyrone middle distance talent Nick Griggs will continue his preparations for this year's World Under-20 Championships by taking on Andrew Coscoran and Luke McCann in the 1500m at Santry.

Griggs ran magnificently in March to push Tokyo Olympic semi-finalist Coscoran to the final stride when he clocked a sensational European Under-20 indoor mile record of 3:56.40.

The Newmills lad will be aiming to negotiate Saturday afternoon's heats before taking on Ireland's current top two middle distance men in Sunday's final at 20:20 BST.

With Mageean an absentee, Sarah Healy will a strong favourite in the women's 1500m after clocking a new Irish under-23 record of 4:02.86 recently.

Other in-form athletes who will be in action include 100m hurdler Sarah Lavin, who improved her personal best to 12.93 seconds last weekend, and Sligo man Chris O'Donnell after his 45.26 400m clocking at the same meeting, which moved him to joint second on the Irish all-time list for the event.

Galway man Robert McDonnell is regarded as one of the coming men in Irish athletics and if the conditions are right, could improve his 20.51 seconds 200m personal best he set last month when he takes on Olympian Marcus Lawler.

The 100m races could potentially see the Irish records under threat with US collegiate star Rhasidat Adeleke and Israel Olatunde both in superb form.

Double European Under-20 champion Adeleke has already taken the Irish 200m and 400m records off Phil Healy over the last 10 months and will have the Cork woman's 100m mark of 11.28 seconds in her sights.

Olatunde has improved his 100m personal best to 10.27 earlier month - and subsequently ran a wind-assisted 10.19 - so Paul Hession's record 10.18 from 2007 could be in danger on Sunday, with Paralympic star Jason Smyth also among the entries.

The men's 800m has the makings of another great race with Letterkenny man Mark English set to take on in-form pair John Fitzsimons and Harry Purcell, plus fit-again Longford youngster Cian McPhillips.

Cork woman Shanahan will go into the women's 800m as favourite after taking Mageean's national record in Belfast last month but she may not have it all her own way with Georgie Hartigan also among the entries.