Cian McPhillips took seventh place in the European U23 800m final on Sunday in Espoo, Finland.
McPhillips clocked 1:48.04 in a race where he contested the lead for the opening 500m before finishing seventh.
The Longford man saw his 2022, disrupted with injury made an impressive return to competitive championship racing.
McPhillips was in third position with 300 metres remaining. However his lack of training told and he fell back down the field.
Yannis Meziane of France won out in 1:45.92 with Britain’s Ethan Hussey third in 1:45.95. Paul Anselmini of France took bronze in 1:45.99.
After the race, McPhillips saw the positives in his performance and believes it is the start of the road to next year’s Olympic Games.
Great to see Cian McPhillips back in a European final and no doubt it won’t be the last 💪#Espoo2023 pic.twitter.com/SM1Hd78bzO
— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) July 16, 2023
The Longford man had clocked 1:46.35 in Friday's semi-final.
Meanwhile, Ireland have won gold and silver in the European Under-23 1500m women's final.
Sophie O’Sullivan, daughter of Olympic silver medallist Sonia O'Sullivan took gold with a turn of pace in the final 100 metres.
O’Sullivan, outsprinted Sarah Healy to win in a personal best of 4.07:18 seconds against 4.07:36 for Healy.
