Cian McPhillips and Mark English have both qualified for the semi-finals of the 800m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

The first three in each of the seven heats moved on to the penultimate stage of the event, joined by the three fastest losers, but McPhillips qualified with ease by taking his heat in one minute 44.91 seconds.

Fifth at the bell, the Longford man sauntered clear of his opposition in the run for the line, seeing off Bryce Hoppel of the United States in second and Jamaica’s Tyrice Taylor in third.

Brilliant run from Cian McPhillips to win his 800m heat in a time of 1:44.91 #rtesport #RTEWorldAthletics #TeamIreland
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— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 16, 2025

McPhillips’s run may have surprised many, but the 23-year-old took to the blocks buoyed by a strong training block prior to the Worlds.

“I had an inkling it was coming, as training was going well,” the UCD athlete told RTÉ Sport.

“I thought it went very well, a huge confidence boost when you’re up against Australian and American record holders,.

“You just have to stay chilled in these things. I have made the error in the past of blowing it too early but this time I didn’t panic, I just held back when guys were jostling and pushing in front of me.

“Thankfully, it all worked out. You’ll be surprised how long 120 metres to go is when guys are dying.

“Hopefully I can stay fresh now and get a new PB in the semis.”

English joined the 2021 European Junior Champion in the semi-finals as he finished third in his heat in 1:45.13.

Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya, who is the Olympic champion at the distance, crossed the line first in English’s heat, with the late surge of Italy’s Francesco Pernici relegating the Letterkenny man to third in the closing stages.

🇮🇪 A solid run from Mark English (1.45.13) means Ireland will have two runners in the men’s 800m semi-finals
Coverage of the World Athletics Championships continues on @RTE2 and @RTEplayer
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— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 16, 2025

English was pleased that his pre-race plan worked out, in that he was able to make his move with 300m to go, and he said: “I wanted to be in position at that point as it was relatively quick through 400 and then it opened up nicely for me.

“Emmanuel Wanyonyi is a really good calibre of athlete so it was always going to be tough to defeat him.

“It was a good race. I would have liked to have got second and got a better draw for the semi-finals but you got to go with what you’ve got.”