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.
Sports career
Phelan was born in Galway, Republic of 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]
Academic career
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]
