Brilliant Bronze for Mark English

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Mark English (UCD AC) won the bronze medal in the 800m at the European Athletics Championships in Zurich on Friday, August 15th. English was locked in battle all the way down the finishing straight as he gave everything to win the bronze in a time of 1.45.03.

Commenting afterwards English said “I am absolutely delighted, I felt really relaxed that’s why it went so well I think. I really enjoyed that, the last 100m was unbelievable. I ‘am happy with bronze. I knew Bosse was beatable. It’s fantastic, it’s not just for me, it’s for everyone who supported me. My whole family are here.”

Pre-race favourite Bosse of France set a fast early pace going through the bell in 50.97 seconds. English was running a smart race sitting in sixth place but never too far off the leaders. Bosse continued to push the pace hitting the 600m mark in 87.24 seconds with English starting to motor in fifth place.

The last 100m was special for the Irishman as he powered down the finishing straight to win the bronze medal in a season’s best time of 1.45.03. Polish athletes Adam Kszczot and Artur Kuciapski won the gold and silver respectively.

English said “I had two goals coming into this season, to win a medal here and break the Irish record. I’ll look for one or two more races now to try and do that. “

Irish Athletics History

English becomes Ireland seventh ever medallist at these championships joining Irish greats such as Sonia O’Sullivan and Eamonn Coghlan.

He also becomes only the second Irish athlete along with Derval O’Rourke to win a medal at these championships in the last ten years, a remarkable achievement.

High Performance director Kevin Ankrom said “We have experienced the high and lows of sport today. I am delighted for Mark, as a group supporting him that’s what makes it all the more sweeter. We’re all very proud of Mark. All his hard work is paying off, I am delighted that these young athletes are starting to bridge the gap from the junior ranks to the seniors, we will continue to develop that.”

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