Big in Japan: Tokyo heroics ‘opens a lot of doors’ for Longford athlete Cian McPhillips

Longford's Cian McPhillips finished like a train in the World Championships 800m Final in Tokyo on Saturday however a medal agonisingly eluded the 23-year-old Ardagh man and UCD student. 

En-route to finishing 4th place in the fastest ever World 800m final, Cian set a blistering new Irish record of 1:42:15.

Cian dug deep as he produced an absolutely stunning final 100m, coming from the back of the star studded field to finish fourth and just outside the medal positions.

It was a stunning debut World Championships for Cian, representing his family, county and country proud, and he'll be a force to be reckoned with in the years ahead. 

The Ardagh, Longford and UCD athlete raised the spirits of a county and the nation as he missed out by 0.2 of a second on a world medal, being pipped by three Olympic medallists, with 2024 champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi setting a championship record of 1:41.86, edging Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati (1:41.90) and Canada’s Marco Arop (1:41.95).

On the way to winning his semi-final, Cian ran a stunning Irish record time of 1:43.18 so to shave another second off that in the final was nothing short of phenomenal and the Ardagh star has a very exciting future ahead. 

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Speaking immediately after the final, Cian was asked about ‘obliterating’ his national record by over a second and he reflected candidly, “I’m a bit pissed, but I think that's to be expected. When I calm down I'll probably appreciate what I did a bit more.” 

He continued, “You know, that was basically almost an Olympic final. I got beaten by the three medalists. I thought I might have had them if I had a bit more home straight to work with, but you know, that'll come next time.”

Coached by Joe Ryan, Cian’s finish to the final was explosive. “I gave it everything I had. I don't think I could have run it any differently and done better. I was the first European home, I think I showed pretty decent tactical awareness and everything throughout the rounds, so I'm proud enough of the way this has gone.” 

He received a difficult lane draw for the final. “I got a rough enough lane draw, lane two. I kind of knew they were going to go out hard and come on top of me, so I just had to bide my time, and hope for an opening.

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“It didn't really come. Maybe there were one or two opportunities, but it would have required a big surge and that definitely would have compromised the finish. So I kind of just made the split second decision to hold off and I just ran out of real estate there at the end.”

He was satisfied with his time. “I don't think I could have done a whole lot better. I'm happy enough with that time (1:42:15). It's another national record. I can't do the maths now, but it's almost three seconds off PB this year. It's a huge push on and opens a lot of doors for next year.”

Cian was placed 44th in the rankings of the 66 athletes that had qualified for the 800m and sensationally ended up fourth in the world. 

“I am a lot physically stronger than at that time and it showed. I was pretty proud of how mentally strong I held it together through the rounds.

“It's my first World Championships, it's pretty daunting going out in front of that crowd, and to listen to the achievements of all these Olympic champions, world champions, continental record holders. I think I put it up to them and it just wasn't enough in the end.” 

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Cian admitted to RTE's David Gillick, “It's frustrating at the moment, but when I calm down, I'll come to appreciate it a good bit more. First European home in the world championships, I can't be too greedy.”

He concluded on an optimistic note, “I think it wasn't really an optimal year but I learned a lot that we're going to take into next year. Plans already done out as to where the weaknesses are, what needs to be shored up. I think I did a great job coming off the injury, peaking for these championships. It wasn't enough today but hopefully next time round it will be.”

A new star has announced himself on the world stage.