SÍOFRA CLÉIRIGH BUTTNER has reclaimed the record for the Irish indoor 800m, just four days after a new national time was set by Nadia Power for the second time this season.
Buttner previously set a new record in 2018 and is now back at the summit again.
The 25-year-old was competing at the American Track League meeting at Fayetteville, Arkansas, when she clocked a time of 2:00.58 to cut seconds off her previous best while also surpassing Power’s record of 2:00.98 which she ran in Poland last Wednesday.
Buttner came in just five-hundredths of a second behind the American winner Heather Maclean to take second place at the meeting.
Power first claimed the national indoor record over 800m in January, running a time of 2:02.44 to finish second in the 800m at the Vienna Indoor Meet. That display saw her break Buttner’s previous record of 2:02.46 from 2018 during her time at Villanova.
𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝟒
— Arkansas Track & Field (@RazorbackTF) February 22, 2021
The 800m featured a facility record for Heather MacLean in 2:00.53, while runner-up Siofra Cleirigh Buttner broke the Irish national record with a 2:00.58.
Previous Tyson Center record 2:00.75 was set in 2005 by Nicole Cook (Tenn). pic.twitter.com/GiF8F6xLOt
Buttner now moves to fourth in the European rankings ahead of the indoor championships in 10 days.
The Dundrum South Dublin athlete has been included in the Ireland that is travelling to Torun in Poland, while Power has also been selected.
24 athletes in total have been chosen for the championships, including Mark English, Ciara Mageean and Phil Healy.
The full list of the team can be found here.
