Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Galway, Ireland [1] | 26 February 1986|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 73 kg (161 lb; 11.5 st) [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Academic background | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alma mater | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Academic work | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Discipline | Sports | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Updated on 11 September 2016 |
Simon Phelan (born 26 February 1986) is an Irish academic and former athlete, who is currently a lecturer at Oxford Brookes University. As an athlete, Phelan competed for Jersey as a high jumper, and won the high jump event at the 2011 Island Games.
Phelan was born in Galway, Ireland, but moved to Jersey as a child. [2] In 2005, he won the high jump event at the South of England Championships with a height of 2.10m. [2] Phelan represented Jersey at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne; he finished 18th in the qualifying round of the event, with a height of 2.05. [3] Phelan and Lauren Therin were the only Jersey athletics competitors at the Games. [2] Phelan won the high jump event at the 2011 Island Games with a height of 2.10m, 15 cm higher than any other competitor. [4] Whilst studying at the University of Bath, Phelan competed for TeamBath. [2] In 2015, Phelan jumped 2.16m at an event in Bedford; in doing so, he broke his personal best by 1 cm, and also broke the Jersey national record. [5] Phelan competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow; he finished last in his qualifying pool, with a jump of 2.06m. After the event, he said that it was "probably the worst I've jumped for a year". [6] Phelan also came fourth at the 2015 Island Games in Jersey, which was won by fellow Jersey athlete Jason Fox. [7] [8] Phelan retired due to an injury. [9]
Phelan has a degree in coaching and sports development from the University of Bath, and as of 2014, he was studying for a PhD at the University of Birmingham. [1] After retiring from high jump, Phelan decided that he didn't want to be a coach, and instead focused on research. [9] He worked at the University of Northampton and the University of Birmingham, and since 2017, Phelan has been a lecturer at Oxford Brookes University. [10]