Longford athlete Cian McPhillips achieves the 800m qualifying standard for European Under-23 Championships

Running on his ‘home’ track at Belfield, the UCD student crossed the line first in 1:46.94 to secure the win over a second clear of runner-up Boitumelo Masilo (South Africa). Cian’s time was inside the 1:48.00 qualifying standard for the European Under-23 Athletics Championships which will take place in Finland next month.

As season opener’s go, the victory showed a real return to form for Cian who recently turned 21 and follows an injury-disrupted 2022 in which he raced only once. Saturday’s race was paced through the first 500m by Cian’s training partner John Fitzsimons before the Ardagh athlete went on to show his strength on the home straight to move past Masilo for the win.

Having clearly worked hard away from the track to make him a physically stronger runner, Cian will be confident of notching up many more top performances as the season gathers momentum. 

The 2021 European Junior 1500m Champion will look to soon better his 1:46.13 personal best for the 800m as he builds up for a busy July which may also include a National Championships showdown over the two-lap distance with Irish record holder Mark English.