Exactly nine months since setting the Irish 800m record in finishing fourth at the World Championships in Tokyo, Cian McPhillips returns to the track on Sunday in a cautious but optimistic mood.
After a series of setbacks cut his indoor season short and then delayed the start of his outdoor return, the 24-year-old from Longford is now primed for his first 800m outing since Tokyo when he lines up at the FBK Games in Hengelo, the Dutch stop on the World Athletics Continental Tour.
McPhillips finished 2025 as the top-ranked European over 800m, and his 1:42.15 in Tokyo – just two tenths of a second off bronze – would have won him gold at every previous World Championships. It improved the Irish record of 1:43.18 he set winning his semi-final, eclipsing Mark English’s previous Irish record in the distance.
McPhillips then dipped his spikes back into cross-country running, being part of the Irish mixed relay team that finished sixth at the European Cross-Country Championships in December, and appeared in excellent form when winning his first indoor race over 600m in Boston on January 24th.
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A dental issue then forced his withdrawal from the Millrose Games, the loss of training also meaning he by-passed the World Indoors in March. A knee injury then stalled his outdoor preparations, his coach Joe Ryan confident everything is now back on track.
“He’s been training well, ready to race now, hopeful it will all be good from here,” said Ryan, who has been guiding McPhillips since his school days.
“There was the dental issue, then during the recovery phase, he’d another bit of a setback with a knee issue. It was never serious but it lingered for a few weeks, and as a result of that it’s just a later start to the season than we would have imagined.
“He has ticked off the qualifying standard for the European Championships (in Birmingham in August), and he’ll be looking at another couple of races in early July, then Nationals into the Europeans, and hopefully go all the way to the World Athletics Ultimate Championships in September.”
McPhillips endured a similarly delayed start last summer, not racing for the first time until June 29th. However, in his third race of the season he improved his then best in the 800m to 1:44.19 to win the Morton Games in Santry.
Leading the world 800m list so far this summer is 17-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus from the US, running 1:42.08 to win the Oslo Diamond league last week.
