Strong Westmeath links of athletics ace McPhillips

Irish running sensation Cian McPhillips – who claimed an incredible fourth-place finish in the men’s 800m final at the World Athletics Championships last Saturday – is coached by Westmeath man Joe Ryan.

Along with Kate O’Connor's all round excellence in winning a silver medal in the heptathlon, the performances of McPhillips in Tokyo have emerged as a major talking point from an Irish perspective.

Kilbeggan native Joe described Cian’s display in the final as the “stuff of dreams” as the 23-year-old Longford man announced himself on the world stage in spectacular fashion.

"We've always felt he could compete at that level," Ryan told David Gillick in a post-race interview on RTÉ.

In eighth and last position coming up to the bend in the final, McPhillips finished strongly, setting a new national record of 1:42.15 and narrowly missing out on a medal.

Having won his heat, McPhillips then won his semi-final in a national record to qualify for the final. He went on to beat his own national record in the final.

Kenya's Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi won gold in a championship record time of 1:41.86. Algeria's Djamel Sedjati took silver in 1:41.90 and Canada's Marco Arop was a couple of strides ahead of McPhillips to claim bronze in 1:41.95.

A native of Ardagh, Co. Longford, McPhillips joined Longford AC as a youngster and he now represents UCD AC.

Joe Ryan hails from Ballinderry, just outside Kilbeggan, and is a mentor with the Kilbeggan Shamrocks GAA U-10 team. The club has congratulated Joe on the role he has played in Cian's remarkable progress.

Joe and his older brothers Paddy and David went to school in the Carmelite College, Moate. The entire family has always had a keen interest in athletics and Joe has claimed several honours in race walking.

Joe is a member of Mullingar Harriers AC and McPhillips has trained at the Westmeath club in the past. Mullingar Harriers AC said Joe “has expertly coached and guided Cian since he was 13”.

“We’ve been privileged to see Cian progress over the years as he trained regularly at the club and knew he was destined for greatness, and everyone at the club congratulates Cian on his achievements in Tokyo," said Mullingar Harriers.

After his stunning performance in Tokyo – which came so close to securing a medal – McPhillips praised Joe's influence. “My coach, Joe Ryan, did a great job making sure I was peaking coming into this,” he told the Irish Independent.