Longford's class act Cian McPhillips set to take on the best in the world in Tokyo

A 28-strong group of Irish athletes will descend upon Tokyo this week for the World Championships as the track and field season draws to a close. Among those arriving in the Japanese capital city will be Ardagh’s Cian McPhillips having concluded a training camp in Hong Kong.
Cian will line up in the 800 metres with the heats scheduled for Tuesday September 16 from 11.35am (Irish time). 66 men, from 35 different countries, are entered for the event and all will be attempting to advance from their respective heat to the semi-finals taking place two days later.
Going by previous championships, only 24 spots will likely be available for those progressing past the first round making for some very competitive races in prospect.
This summer saw McPhillips set his two fastest ever times for the distance which included victory at July’s Morton Games in Dublin when clocking 1:44.19. He is placed 38th in the season’s best rankings which indicates the depth of quality that he will face in Japan.
Putting much focus on such rankings can be somewhat futile though when it comes to predicting how the action will play out.
With there being no one assigned to purposely set a fast pace from the start, championship racing is usually more of a tactical affair. The 800m can also be one of the most unpredictable of track events with the two-lap distance often producing close finishes.
The Worlds will be McPhillips’ second major championship this year after March’s European Indoors in the Netherlands. An unfortunate fall during the heat was followed by a flat performance as he exited at the semi-final stage.
A stress fracture diagnosis was identified upon his return home. This leg injury, caused by the fall, would no doubt have hindered his movement in the semi-final impacting the chance of advancing. He will be hoping to avoid any such drama during his heat in Tokyo.
Also taking to the start line in the men’s 800m will be Donegal’s Mark English. The 32-year-old has enjoyed an impressive late career resurgence in form. He approaches the championship having lowered his Irish record last month to 1:43.37 and claimed a bronze medal at the European Indoors in the spring.
With his appearance in the green singlet in Tokyo, 23-year-old McPhillips will become the fourth person from county Longford to compete at the World Athletics Championships. He will join Ray Flynn, Aisling Molloy and Yemi Talabi in achieving the distinction. Both Flynn and Molloy raced at the middle-distance events while sprinter Talabi was a member of the Irish women’s 4 x 100m relay team at the 2022 championship in the USA.
McPhillips has shown a strong mindset in dealing with the pressures of international competition in the past and has gained good experience to date. The undoubted highlight has been his Gold medal win in the 1500m at the 2021 European Juniors. Progress through into the senior ranks has not been without its challenges as injuries and a loss of form at key times of the season have curtailed his momentum in recent years.
He has had to combine top-level training with an intensive college workload at UCD, where he’s studying Maths, deferring his final term to next year to focus full-time on athletics.
Cian’s development through the juvenile, junior and into the senior grade has been under the astute guidance of coach Joe Ryan. Ryan also works with a number of Ireland’s other leading middle and long-distance runners.Along with Cian, there will be further local interest in Japan in the form of race walker Oisín Lane.
A native of Ballymore in county Westmeath, Oisín is a past pupil of Mercy Ballymahon SS and will compete in the 35km walk which opens the championship this Friday, September 13.
Despite the regrettable absence of both Ciara Mageean and Rhasidat Adeleke, the largest ever Irish team to qualify for a World Athletics Championships will no doubt give it their all. The best chance of a medal may well come with Kate O’Connor in the multi-event Heptathlon.

RTE television and RTE Player will have coverage of the championship and, due to the time difference, most of the finals over the nine days will be screened live in the early afternoon Irish time.