Mark English has broken the Irish 800-metre record, and secured Olympic qualification in the process.
The Donegal athlete clocked a time of 1-minute 44-point-7-1 seconds while placed second behind Yassine Hethat in Spain.
English shaved just over a tenth of a second off the previous Irish best of David Matthews, whose record lasted 26 years.
Highland’s Athletics Correspondent Patsy McGonagle says its a great return for the efforts Mark has put in to making a second games…
💥NEW RECORD💥
Mark English has broken the Irish 800m record with a 1:44.71 in Castellón, Spain this evening. The time takes 0.11 off the record held by David Matthews since 1995🤩
English’s previous best was 1:44.84, recorded in London back in 2013👏
✅Olympic standard pic.twitter.com/ABxRKA4FJ1
— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) June 29, 2021
Congrats @markenglish_ Well deserved for your dedication, tenacity & resilience. Roll on @Tokyo2020 https://t.co/YZIiDhtIwZ
— Eamonn Coghlan (@EamonnCoghlan1) June 29, 2021
