Mark English breaks Irish 800m record for second time in four days

Sharlene Mawdsley was also in action in Madrid, the Newport sprinter clocking the second fastest time of her career over 400m, 50.82, to finish second. 

Ireland’s Mark English during the 800m heats at the 2024 European Athletics Championships. Picture: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy

Mark English has broken his Irish 800m record for the second time in four days, the 31-year-old Donegal athlete clocking 1:44.53 to finish fourth at the Continental Tour Silver meeting in Madrid on Friday night, a race won by Belgium’s Elliot Crestan in 1:44.28.

On Tuesday evening in Turku, Finland, English broke his previous national record of 1:44.71 by clocking 1:44.69, a time which secured him qualification for his third straight Olympic Games.