Cian McPhillips advanced to the semi-finals of the European indoor championship in dramatic circumstances.
McPhillips had finished in fifth place, outside the qualification place. However, the referee intervened and re-instated McPhillips into the semi-finals.
The Longford man was well placed at the bell to attack; however, he was forced outside and became embroiled with a stumbling Bartosz Kitlinski.
Kitlinski stumbled to the floor and brought McPhillips with him. Ending any hopes of a qualifying finish. The 22-year-old got up and finished in fifth place.
However, both athletes’ falls were deemed accidental and were handed a pass to run again in the semi-finals.
Cian McPhillips reacts to his race in the heats of the Men’s 800m at the European Indoor Championships 🎤
McPhillips has just been advanced to the semi-final on the decision of the track referee 🙌#IrishAthletics | #Apeldoorn2025 pic.twitter.com/ylJ4FfiIva
— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) March 7, 2025
Elsewhere, Mark English advanced automatically finishing second in his heat in 1:46.42 behind Poland’s Patryk Sieradzki in 1:46.32. However, English had a sloppy performance in making the next round.
The 31-yeard-old ran the majority of the race on the inside lane and was lucky in the straight when a gap opened up to allow English to sprint to the finish.
The semi-finals are set to get underway at 19:13 on Saturday evening.
Meanwhile, there was disappointment for Sharlene Mawdsley who withdrew from the women’s 400 meters. Mawdsley having posted the fastest women’s times in the mixed 4x400m relay on Thursday night.
Mawdsley withdraw, having suffered a slight hamstring strain during her warm-up.
There was no luck for North Down’s Rachel McCann or Sligo’s Lauren Cadden who both failed to progress from round one.
