THE LAST POINT:

Promise is a tag that sports people have struggled with for time immemorial -  a label that many a 'promising' young athlete, footballer, rugby player, swimmer or God knows what else has struggled to live up; expectations heaped upon their shoulders by those they may never see or even know but nevertheless, a label that bears down heavy on emerging talent.

The notion leapt unbidden into my mind  after I  watched a young Glencar Manorhamilton battle to the last against Mohill and I got to thinking of what I witnessed in Tokyo earlier that day when two of this country's most promising, that word again, athletes produced performances that I'm not sure people fully appreciate just how exceptional they were.

Cian McPhillips hails not far from Leitrim in Longford, his father Paddy a colleague of the Leitrim crowd teaching in Moyne Community School -  Darren Mulvey was raving about the 23 year old half-miler in Pairc Sean on Saturday evening, Darren's enthusiasm mirrored all around the country who were enthralled by  fearless young McPhillips.

Fourth in a World Championship Final defies comprehension - Cian went into the Tokyo championships with little expectations, all the hype focused on a five time European Senior medalist in Mark English, the Letterkenny man a true standard bearer for Irish athletics.

Just last month, English dished out a harsh lesson to the young pretender in Morton Stadium  at the Irish Championships and the Donegal man's celebrations seemed to  reinforce the point that the Donegal man was the king. But, six weeks later, it is impossible to escape the conclusion that the crown has been passed on to the Longford youngster.

THE LAST POINT: CLUB PLAYERS' VOICE HAS TO BE HEARD

Over the course of two glorious performances,  McPhillips not only shattered the Irish record but took it to new heights, Cian leaving Tokyo as the 16th fastest male 800m runner of all time - that's truly mind-boggling because, apart from soccer, athletics is the one truly global sport where a star can  spring for the midlands of Ireland, the highlands of Kenya or the lowlands of Holland.

Those of us lucky to have witnessed McPhillips' rise through the juvenile ranks   knew he was a rare gem - that gem sparkled in European Junior competition but for all the promise Cian possesses, the step-up to the Senior ranks is littered with the wreckage of Junior stars who peaked too soon and flamed out.

Nobody expected what Cian produced in Tokyo, least of all himself I’d imagine, but I'd confidently say that many thought if he could put his injury troubles behind him, something like this would eventually happen.

The second part of the Tokyo experience was a little less surprising - Kate O'Connor has thrashed the notion that our best and brightest need to leave for foreign shores to conquer the world. Based in Dundalk and coached by her father Michael, O'Connor's rise has been meteoric but not unexpected because the multi-eventer has been winning European medals consistently from her teens.

As an aside, if the Dundalk multi eventer is not crowned RTE Sports Star of the Year after winning indoor and outdoor  World silver medals, a European bronze and the World Student Games into the bargain, something is seriously wrong in Irish sport!

O'Connor's performance was the stuff of dreams but it was also powered by the fearlessness of youth - five personal bests, all while battling a knee injury sustained in the long jump, saw her claim a global silver medal in an event where hard won experience is key and many will tell you this country simply doesn't have the facilities or coaching expertise to achieve.

O'Connor & McPhillips are the vanguard of a new generation, quite a few of them based at home, battling poor facilities and even poorer financial support as those athletes on County Hurling & Football teams probably have superior coaching, finance and support structures around them.

Nicola Tuthill, Nick Griggs, Sarah Healy, Sarah Lavin, Sophie O'Sullivan and the evergreen and inspirational Fionnuala McCormack produced Tokyo performances that almost defy belief and we haven't even mentioned the brightest star of all in Rhasidat Adeleke.

THE LAST POINT: WEATHERING THE WEATHER A BIG FACTOR

But promise is one thing - there are numerous pitfalls and troubles for any sports person on the road to success, it is rarely a straight line. McPhillips' path has had more than a few bumps, a point reinforced by the absence of the luminous  Adeleke in Tokyo, just a year after thrilling the nation in Paris and Rome, a clear indication that the path is rarely smooth or straight and you never know if that one chance of  immortality will come around again.

The absurdly young Glencar Manorhamilton are tipped by many to dominate for years to come - they have, in Barry McNulty and Jack Kelly, two players with the potential to bend  football in the county to their will for the next ten to 15 years and a host more yet to emerge from the juvenile ranks so it is no wonder that sage experts are talking them up as a potential powerhouse in the future.

Potential is easy to identify but it is harder to build it into something tangible - a young St Mary's Kiltoghert won the Fenagh Cup just three years ago but are contesting a relegation final next Saturday while Fenagh St Caillins, with some of the most outrageously talented footballers produced in this county over the last 15 years, are still fighting tooth and nail to make that long awaited breakthrough.

What our two Tokyo heroes illustrated is that you've got to strike while the iron is hot - who will heed that lesson in Leitrim?