Overview

• McPhillips clocked 1:43.18 to win the second semi-final in Tokyo, lowering the national record of 1:43.37 set by Mark English last month.
• The Longford native advanced to Saturday’s eight-man final at 2:22pm Irish time after also winning his heat in 1:44.91.
• English finished third in his semi in 1:45.47 and did not advance, with only the top two in each semi plus the next two fastest qualifiers progressing.
• Reigning world champion Marco Arop won English’s race in 1:45.09, with Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati second in the same time.
• Spain’s Mohamed Attaoui won the third semi in 1:43.18 to match McPhillips’ time, while McPhillips said recent training left him “feeling really, really good.”