Unless you happen to be an athletics aficionado, it might seem that Cian McPhillips has come out of nowhere (Longford, actually) to thrust himself into the medal conversation in the 800m at the World Athletics Championships.
However, even the RTÉ Sport analysts admitted to a degree of surprise at the giant strides McPhillips has taken over two laps at the National Stadium in Tokyo this week.
Injury has curtailed the 23-year-old's progress somewhat, but there's plenty of proven pedigree and back-form to use as exemplars of what he could potentially achieve, not least his triumph over the distance at the 2021 European Junior Championships.
After winning his heat on Tuesday at this year's Worlds in one minute 44.91 seconds, McPhillips came out on Thursday and advanced from his semi-final after seeing off his rivals in a new Irish record of 1:43.18.
That time eclipsed the previous national best set by Mark English in Hungary last month. Unfortunately, the Letterkenny veteran won't be joining McPhillips in the final after finishing a gallant third in his own semi-final.
Reflecting on the magnitude of the achievement for Irish athletics' new star man, Rob Heffernan told RTÉ viewers: "He was fantastic.
"I think the Olympic cycle, it's the birth of new stars. They mightn't have massive names now, but in three or four years they could be household names.
"The way he navigated this race today, we'd been going through the pros and cons, and you're just hoping after the first round, is he after recovering, is he mentally – when it gets really tough – is he going to believe in himself?
"Again, he's done everything right, coming off the top bend at the 200, he stays out of trouble, he's tracking the leader here.
"He looks so, so strong, and he didn't make any impulsive move, and I think he's even thinking further again, because the race is going to be won in the last 100 metres in the final and this is where he opened up and he obliterated the field.
"As an Irishman, looking at an Irish athlete dominating on the world stage, it makes me feel so proud."
"This Olympic cycle, it's the birth of new stars"
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 18, 2025
Sonia O'Sullivan, Rob Heffernan and Derval O'Rourke react to Cian McPhillips' outstanding 800m semi-final performance and his chances in the final: https://t.co/NbdrvQY17Q #Tokyo2025 pic.twitter.com/bEQwx0GidH
In terms of global recognition, McPhillips may have entered the Worlds as a great unknown, but Heffernan wants to see the Longford athlete adopt a carpe diem approach in the final.
"This could be the opportunity of a lifetime for him," he added. "I know he's young, but it might never come around again.
"He could go on and be our greatest star ever, but you just don't know."
Great expectations can weigh heavily on the shoulders of the most talented athletes, with Sonia O'Sullivan expressing the view that McPhillips has thrived in the absence of such a burden.
"We could not have predicted that," the 1995 5,000m world champion said. "Maybe that's how he got there, because there was no pressure, no expectation.
"You just hope now that he can go into the final and stay under the radar. Just go in there and believe that he belongs there, and he's just going to go in there and not worry about the times, the pace, the people around him, and just competing.
'That's what he's done in the heat, the semi-final, he's just put himself in a good position, and then he sees the finish line and says 'right, I can compete here, let's just go for it'.
"Anything can happen when you do that."
Derval O'Rourke invoked the sentiments expressed by Robert Browning when he wrote that "a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for", insisting: "I think he should be trying to win it. He's won the heat, he's won the semi-final. Go and try and win the final, finish off the job and see where that leaves you.
"The fact we are sitting here talking about that is absolutely insane."
Watch Cian McPhillips compete in the final of the 800m at the World Athletics Championships on Saturday at 2.22pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Coverage begins at 11am.
