Simon Phelan


Simon Phelan is an Irish-born athlete who now competes for Jersey as a high jumper. He won the high jump event at the 2011 Island Games.

Personal life

Phelan was born in Galway, Republic of Ireland, but moved to Jersey as a child. 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.

Career

In 2005, he won the high jump event at the South of England Championships with a height of 2.10m. 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. Phelan and Lauren Therin were the only Jersey athletics competitors at the Games. Phelan won the high jump event at the 2011 Island Games with a height of 2.10m, 15 cm higher than any other competitor. Whilst studying at the University of Bath, Phelan competed for TeamBath. 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. 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". Phelan also came fourth at the 2015 Island Games in Jersey, which was won by fellow Jersey athlete Jason Fox.