English finishes with a flourish for bronze

Mark English delivered on his huge potential with a fearless finishing sprint down the home straight in the European Athletics Championships at a packed Letzigrund arena last night to capture bronze in the 800m in 1:45.03.

The Donegal man looked relaxed on his warm-up strides and it was that sense of relaxation that saw him surprise his rivals and earn a well-deserved bronze, with pre-race favourite Pierre-Ambroise Bosse of France fading to last.

“I was just so relaxed. I didn’t feel any pressure,” said English, on a race won by Adam Kszczot of Poland in 1:44.15. It was a good night for the Poles with Artur Kuciapski second in a pb of 1:44.89 for silver.