Gill to return to Belfast after stunning 2024 win
Phoebe Gill smashed the 45-year-old European Under-18 800m record when clinching a sensational victory in Belfast last year
- Published
Paris Olympian Phoebe Gill will return to this year's Belfast Irish Milers Meet after her record-breaking 800m performance at the meeting last May.
Gill, then aged 17, smashed the 45-year-old European Under-18 800m record by clocking one minute 57.86 to cut almost four seconds off her personal best.
Her Belfast victory started a run of remarkable performances by the St Albans athlete who won the 800m title at the British Championships and went on to reach the semi-finals at Paris 2024.
Gill plans to race over 1500m at this year's Belfast meeting at the Mary Peters Track on 10 May.
Her opponents will include Great Britain's double European junior cross country champion Innes FitzGerald and talented English youngster Ava Lloyd, who finished fifth in the 1500m at last year's World Under-20 Championships in Peru.
Scotland's Erin Wallace, who clocked 2:00.23 to finish second behind Gill in Belfast last year, will aim to go one better in an 800m field which will include four-time Czech champion Kimberley Ficenec.
Meet entries sell out in 15 minutes
Last year's event was held in sweltering conditions and also produced a superb men's 800m as Great Britain's Callum Dodds broke one minute and 45 seconds for the first time to clinch victory in a track record of 1:44.79, which propelled him towards selection for the European Championships.
Dodds will return to the Mary Peters Track where his 800m opponents will again include compatriot Tom Randolph who also went under 1:45 when finishing second last May.
Ireland's 400m star Sharlene Mawdsley, who anchored her country to a dramatic mixed 4x400m relay gold at last year's European Championships and won silver in the women's 4x400m in Rome, has also signed up.
Mawdsley's opponents will include Great Britain's Isabelle Boffey, who has won 800m European U18, U20 and U23 titles, and will move down in distance to race Ireland's Paris Olympian.
Race director Eamonn Christie opened entries for the meeting on 19 January and they were filled within 15 minutes - emphasising the status of an event which again will have World Athletics Continental Tour status.
"Once again I'm overwhelmed at how quickly the event sold out," said Christie.
"I'm delighted at the calibre of athletes who have entered, including international, national and local athletes.
"To date we have entries from Spain, Holland, Denmark, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic as well as Ireland and Great Britain."
BBC Sport NI's website report of Gill's Belfast victory last year generated more than 580,000 page views.