English only chink of light on poor day for Irish in Glasgow

Amid a torrent of underperformances, the outlook decidedly grey for much of the day, a chink of light. It emerged via Mark English, the 25-year-old defying what appeared the convention for the Irish team on the opening day of the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow.

This was English at his brilliant, ebullient best. Coasting in the slipstream of the leader through the opening three laps of his 800m heat, shifting gears when he hit the back straight for the final time, and then moving at a pace — and with a level of apparent comfort — that his rivals could only dream of emulating.