Ciara Mageean reveals cancer diagnosis
The 33-year-old says she has already started treatment, adding she's "ready to face this with the same fight I've always brought to the track".
In a statement on Instagram, Mageean wrote: "To everyone who's been part of my journey so far, I have some difficult news to share: I've been diagnosed with cancer.
"It's been a lot to take in, but I've already started treatment and I'm incredibly grateful to be surrounded by the love and support of my family and close friends.
"Right now, my focus is on healing and taking things one day at a time. I kindly ask that you respect my privacy and that of my loved ones as we move through this together. Your understanding means more than I can say.
"Thank you for the love and strength. I'm ready to face this with the same fight I've always brought to the track."
Last year Mageean insisted that Los Angeles 2028 was still in her sights as she continued her recovery from the surgery that kept her out of the Paris Olympics.
The Portaferry woman looked to have timed her Olympic preparation to perfection last summer as she won 1500m gold at the European Championships in Rome in June, but the decision to put off surgery on troublesome bone spurs on her ankle eventually came back to haunt her at the worst possible time forcing her to withdraw from the Games.
Mageean narrowly missed out on a place in the 1500m final in 2016 and a calf injury a week before her heat in the delayed Tokyo Games saw her eliminated at the first time of asking.
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