It very nearly became pure dreamtime for Irish athletics when Cian McPhillips ran himself into fourth place in the final of the men’s 800 metres at the World Championships in Tokyo, just over 70 minutes after Kate O’Connor secured her silver medal in heptathlon.
The 23-year-old from Longford went into the eight-man final against athletes of far weightier reputations, but McPhillips timed his effort to near perfection, just .2 of a second off bronze, despite running another astonishing Irish record of 1:42.15, taking more than a second off the Irish mark he set on Thursday.
It was an incredibly close race, McPhillips moving from eighth to fourth down the homestretch, after wisely holding back on the first lap, passed in 49 seconds.
In the end there was no denying Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi from Kenya winning gold in 1:41.86, a championship record, ahead of Djamel Sedjati from Algeria, the Olympic bronze medallist who won silver this time in 1:41.90.
The came defending champion Marco Arop from Canada, who won the bronze medal in 1:41.95, just ahead of McPhillips with his 1:42.15.
Ireland’s Cian McPhillips reacts after finishing fourth in the 800m final. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA Wire
McPhillips had already enjoyed a dream series of firsts in Tokyo. The first Irish athlete to make the 800m final, his 1:43.18 on Thursday the fastest semi-final winning time in World Championship history.
“I’ve taken another second off my PB, it feels a bit frustrating at the moment, but when I’ve calmed down, it’s huge progress,” said McPhillips.
“Coming here to my first World champs, to win my heat, win my semi, fourth overall, and even a massive national record, opens more doors next year. I can’t be too greedy.
[ Irish athletes’ performance at World Championships allows us to dream againOpens in new window ]
“It wasn’t far off a full Olympic final there, it would have been nice to get a medal, but we’ll leave that until next time.”
Earlier O’Connor delivered in stunning fashion after another typically brave and determined effort by the 24-year-old from Dundalk. Going into the last of the seven events, the 800m, O’Connor only needed to run close to her personal best of 2:10.46 to seal the silver medal and her spot on the podium among the best all-round women athletes in the world.
Despite nursing a slight knee strain sustained in the long jump earlier on Saturday, she once again improved her best to 2:09.56 – her tally of 6,714 points smashing her own Irish record set in July.
[ In pictures: Kate O’Connor’s heptathlon medal bid at World ChampionshipsOpens in new window ]
Anna Hall from the US won the gold medal on 6,888 after leading the way from the second event, and coming to Tokyo ranked number one in the world this year.
But all that stood in the way of the podium for O’Connor were two laps of Japan’s National Stadium. She’d produced her fourth personal best, from the first six events, in the javelin just over two hours before, although there was strapping on her right knee at that point, the slight injury sustained in the long jump in the morning session.
Ireland’s Kate O’Connor celebrates after winning the silver medal in heptathlon. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA Wire
Remarkably there was a tie for third between Taliyah Brooks of the United States and defending champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson of Britain.
“It’s just insane, words can’t describe how I feel, words can’t describe the year that I’ve had,” said a delighted O’Connor, who briefly broke down in tears in the moment her silver medal was realised. “Indoor season was a complete dream, and afterwards, I took some took off, then wanted to show I could really carry that form into the outdoor season.
“I’ve never really come to a championship before and had as much pressure on my shoulders, not even from just people outside, but from myself. I expected big things, and always knew I was in with a shot of getting a medal. It’s one thing knowing that you’re capable of it, it’s another thing going and doing it.
“Yesterday I enjoyed every single second of the competition, today not so much so. I hurt my knee in the long jump, and it was just a real fight to the line. In the javelin, I did one warm up throw, and was just hoping for the best.
“But the team around me filled me with so much confidence today, because I didn’t have a whole lot of confidence after the long jump. I wasn’t really able to run, to walk up and down stairs, and yeah it was just pure grit and determination and want for a medal that I managed to pull myself through.”
However she wasn’t even thinking about not starting the 800m: “No, never, and I was never going to just settle for a bronze medal either. That was probably the easier option, but I was always going to fight 100 per cent to the line, sore knee or not. And I managed to pull another PB out there [in the 800m].
Ireland’s Kate O’Connor realises she has won the silver medal in the women’s heptathlon. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho
“My expectations for myself changed this year, and they’ve probably changed again now. I think I’ve set myself up really well for the next three years, heading for the Olympics, and I’m prepared to put my head down and work really hard.
“And I’m so happy to win global medals, which hasn’t been done in a long, long time. And especially in multi-events, which has been done before. It’s a really special time.”
O’Connor made history on several fronts. She becomes only the sixth Irish athlete to win a medal on the World Championships stage, the seventh Irish medal won in all – and the first Irish athlete to win an outdoor multi-event medal.
Starting with Eamonn Coghlan’s gold in the 5,000m in the inaugural championships in Helsinki in 1983, Sonia O’Sullivan also won 1,500m silver in 1993, then 5,000m gold in 1995, and they were the last Irish medals one on the track.
The last three medals have come in the race walks, Gillian O’Sullivan winning 20km silver in 2003, Olive Loughnane promoted to 20km gold in 2009 (after Russia’s Olga Kaniskina was banned for doping), before Rob Heffernan won the 50km gold in Moscow in 2013.
For O’Connor, her father and coach Michael also watching closely from the stand, it continued her fast rise to the top of the women’s multi-event.
Kate O’Connor reacts after her first javelin throw, a new personal best. Photograph: Patrick Smith/Getty Images
O’Connor had come to Tokyo in the form on her life, following her two breakthrough indoor performances in the pentathlon back in March when, just 12 days apart, O’Connor won the bronze medal in the European Indoor Championships, then upgrading to silver on the World Indoor stage.
They were the first senior medals won by any Irish athlete in a multi-event, and O’Connor then made another breakthrough in the heptathlon, winning gold medal at the World University Games in the Rhine-Ruhr, Germany in July, where she improved her own Irish record to 6,487 points – before smashing that again in Tokyo.
O’Connor had moved clear in the silver medal position after the javelin throw, with only the 800m to come. In the sixth of the seven events, O’Connor once again improved her lifetime best to 53.06 metres from 52.92. She passed on her third throw, saving all her energy for the 800m to ensure she sealed that silver medal.
She had briefly dropped to fourth after her first event on Saturday, the long jump, not her strongest event.
Last year, O’Connor also become Ireland’s first representative in the Olympic heptathlon, finishing 14th, but she’s now operating on a different level, coming to Tokyo firmly believing she could compete with the very best in the world.
And she’s only getting started, this remember being her first appearance on the outdoor World Championships stage, and she’s already on the podium.