English Runs 800m Standard for European Championships
Weekend Round-up
English Hits Standard
Donegal’s Mark English (UCD) finished fifth today in the 800m at the FBK Games in Hengelo Germany running a season’s best of 1.46.22, inside the qualification time of 1.46.45 for the European Track and Field Championships which take place in Zurich in August. The race was won by Robert Biwott of Kenya in 1.44.75. English was the second European over the line with Thijmen Kupers of Netherlands 1.45.68 who finished third. The Indoor 800m record holder made his outdoor season in IFAM meet in Belgium last weekend when he ran 1.46.39 to win his race.
Robinson Continues Run of Good Form
Paul Robinson (St Coca’s AC) ran a season’s best of 3.36.45 to place 12th in the 1500m in a high class field at the IAAF Diamond League in Rome on Thursday night. This is the second time this season that he has dipped inside the European qualification standard of 3.39.30.
Northern Ireland Championships
Crusader’s Jason Harvey continued a strong season claiming victory in the 400m Hurdles running 51.72 to finish ahead of Paul Byrne (51.91). In the women’s 400m hurdles Ferrybank’s Jessie Barr who has battled her way back from a foot injury ran 60.11 in challenging weather conditions to win the race. North Down AC high hurdler Ben Reynolds continued to show form, winning his event in a fast 13.83 seconds. Paralympic champion, Jason Smyth (Derry City Track Club) claimed another NI and Ulster title winning in 10.87.
Hickey Takes National Title
At the Grand Prix of Race Walking meet in York which incorporated the Irish 20k championships Luke Hickey took the national title in 1.28.10 placing third overall.
Team Announcement
The full Irish Team for the European championships will be announced on the 21st of July at a Press Conference after the National Track and Field Championships (19th/20th). There is an expectation that this team will be made up of over 25 athletes, making it one of the largest Irish teams ever to compete at the championships.