Team Ireland athletes Ciara Mageean and Sarah Healy failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the Women’s 1500m event on Monday morning.
The pair experienced some tough competition and were unable to keep up with the leading packs.
Ciara Mageean finished tenth in her race and went across the finish line in the first heat with a time of 4:07.29.
Sarah Healy rounded off her Olympics with an 11th-placed finish courtesy of a time of 4:09.78 in the final heat.
Mageean started her heat strongly but faded away as the race went on and she failed to keep up with her fellow competitors on the last lap.
The 2016 European Championship bronze medalist had a problem that hindered her performance in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo.
Ciara Mageean tore her calf 8 days ago in her final hard track session – didn't run most of last week and began jogging again only on Saturday.
Tried her best to get to the line, tried her best in the race itself. Brutal timing for her.
📸@sportsfile#Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/Vdh1hwoLNK— Cathal Dennehy (@Cathal_Dennehy) August 2, 2021
The UCD athlete tore her calf eight days previous to the race and did not run for most of the last week as a result, only returning to jogging on Saturday.
The 29-year-old ran a much more impressive 4:02.48 at the Herculis in Monaco at the beginning of July and that time will stand as an example of what could have been.
Sarah Healy crossed the line two seconds slower than Mageean did in heat three of the Women’s 1500m.
Healy started well like her Team Ireland counterpart but fell away much earlier as the quickest heat proved to be too quick for the Olympian.
The 20-year-old was out of contention before the final lap and missed out on making a semi-final in her first Olympic games.
The Team Ireland athlete put her disappointing Olympic debut down to her nerves and race tactics.
The athlete, who also runs for UCD, noted that she had never felt as nervous as she did for her heat and felt that it may have played a part.
The pair will head home after failing to qualify for the semi-finals but they will have high hopes for Paris 2024 in three years.
To find out who the other Irish athletes competing on Monday, August 2nd are, click here.
