Ciara Mageean celebrates getting engaged to her 'training partner for life'

Ciara Mageean ended 2024 by getting engaged to her "training partner for life" after saying yes to boyfriend Tommy's proposal.

The Portaferry athlete revealed the news on Instagram, writing: "My biggest prize yet. 2024 came to a close by answering the easiest question I’ve ever been asked. Tommy has been the rock by my side for over ten years, and now, my training partner for life."

Mageean, who won gold at the European Championships last June before injury ruled her out of the Olympics, has praised her long-time partner in multiple interviews for being extremely supportive of her athletics career.

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She said in 2022: “I put all of my focus in life into my athletics.

"My boyfriend moved to Manchester to be with me because he knew I wasn’t going to go back to Ireland.

"It’s a very selfish life that I live but I look forward to that next stage of life when I don’t necessarily have to be that selfish."

And after her European gold win in June, she told how Thomas is always there to listen, stating: "I said to my boyfriend earlier today that I'm looking forward to going training this year... I wanted to do this for Ireland. I love everyone at home to bits. We did it."

Mageean suffered heartbreak in Paris as an Achilles injury that had been affecting her flared up at the worst possible time and cruelly caused her to miss the Olympic Games.

She told Patrick Kielty on The Late Late Show last month how she made the decision sitting with her boyfriend in the Olympic village in the French capital.

"I've been battling with this injury for quite a long time, unbeknownst to everyone else at the European Championships I was limping around, but unfortunately for me something gave a little bit more in my final prep and I flew early into Paris to try and rectify it, had two cortisone injections, but ultimately the day before I was meant to race my first race I had to make the decision to withdraw," she explained.

"I sat in the village with Thomas (boyfriend) by my side. The amazing medical team had done everything they could, but my ankle just wasn't working. Sitting there beside the river with Thomas and deciding that I'm going to have to actually make a call on this and yeah I saw there with him, I had a cry.

"He had to walk away because he didn't want me to see him cry. I phoned my family who were all together and phoned my aunt Adele who I'm super close to and explained that I wasn't going to get to toe the line in this Olympic Games."

But Mageean isn't giving up on her Olympic dream just yet as she eyes Los Angeles in 2028.

"I have certainly chatted to other athletes in the past who approached Olympic Games knowing it was going to be their last, whereas I knew I've been on an upward tangent for the past few years," Mageean said last November.

"So I was definitely aiming not to retire after this Olympic Games. I was always determined to continue - and I always will be until the point where, 'OK, I'm not getting faster and I'm going to hang up the spikes'.

"But I will say how it finished has given me extra fire in my belly for this next Olympic cycle. So it didn't change my goal - but the fuel has certainly enhanced.

"A lot of people thought I was going to retire, especially because I was so quiet (after withdrawing from Paris just days before the heats).

"I believe nearly my own father would have preferred it. I can remember my daddy had his arm around me and he’s like, 'right we’ll call it a day...you come home, you go watch the hurling with me, you can get a dog finally and be done with all this'.

"And much to my father’s dismay maybe - no, I know he’ll be delighted - I said, ‘what are you talking about, I’m not retiring yet, there’s another Olympics in four years time and I’ve only gotten faster over the past few years, so I’m determined to be back'.

"This has given me an opportunity - sometimes you need a catalyst for change. The really tough end to the summer made me take account of a few things and say, 'do you know what? I'm making a couple of changes, I’m having the surgery to fix the ankle, I’m moving home to be close to family and friends to build a team around me that will help nurture me on that next goal'.

"I want to really draw on all that strength because I think throughout my career, my connection to home and the pride that I have in the Irish vest has been a super-power.

"And I think for me having my feet back on Irish soil will be a super-power too. I’m really excited for this next chapter in Belfast - and Ciara 3.0. I’m excited for that path going forward."

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