Phil Healy continues her fine indoor form with second place in New York

Phil Healy continued her fine indoor form with a close second place over 400m at the famed Millrose Games in New York, clocking 53.72 seconds. The Cork woman came from fourth at the bell to come through for second in what was a tactical championship-type run won by USA’s Jaide Stepter in 53.25.

It follows Healy’s victory in the Vienna International Indoor Meet late last month, clocking 52.31 on that occasion, the then fastest time in Europe. Next stop for Healy on route to the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow on the first weekend in March will be this coming weekend’s National Indoor Championships at the National Indoor Arena in Dublin.

Ciara Mageean was also second in a top class field in the 1,500m at the Madrid indoor meeting in 4:10.12, victory there going to Sofia Ennaoui of Poland in 4:08.83. This follows Mageean’s fine run at the New Balance Games in Boston last month, finishing sixth over the mile in 4:28.31, improving her own Irish indoor mile record of 4:28.40 set three years ago. The Down athlete will next line up in the AIT Grand Prix in Athlone on Wednesday night.

Over in Ghent, Belgium, former European indoor 800m silver medallist Mark English also booked his place in Glasgow with a tidy win in 1:48.66, inside the qualifying time, Sommer Lecky doing likewise when winning the high jump in 1.84m. English will also test himself in Athlone on Wednesday, where another world-quality meeting has been assembled. Still only 25, English is keen to regain the form that saw him win European silver in Prague in 2015.

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Donegal-based Ann-Marie McGlynn also tuned up for a potential go at the marathon distance by clocking a personal best of 71:59 over the half-marathon in Barcelona, good enough for seventh overall in an international field.