Athletics
From temporarily setting aside Leaving Cert worries to going toe to toe with veteran Mark English to contesting a first senior European Championship, it has been a whirlwind month for Longford athlete Cian McPhillips (PICTURED), who has strong family connections in north Monaghan.
Eyes in Co Monaghan, particularly in Scotstown, would have been fixed on RTÉ’s coverage of the European Indoor Championships in Toruń, Poland, where 18-yearold McPhillips ran in the 800m. A composed run in his heat on Friday saw the Longford AC youngster breeze through the field in the last lap to finish second in a time of 1:49.98 and comfortably qualify for Saturday’s semi-final, which was described as “blisteringly fast”. A time of 1:48.06 saw McPhillips narrowly miss…
