Mark English misses out on 800m decider after finishing fourth in World Indoor semi-final
HEARTBREAK: Mark English will miss out on the final at the WIC. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
Mark English faced heartbreak at the World Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland today, coming home fourth in his 800m semi-final in 1:46.70.
Having led with a lap to go, English didn’t have enough over the last 200m to secure one of the top-two qualifying spots for Sunday’s final, with victory going to Australia’s Peter Bol in 1:46.21 ahead of Japan’s Allon Tatsunami Clay (1:46.47) and Jamaica’s Navasky Anderson (1:46.65).
English had previously reached a world final at underage level, finishing fifth at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona, but the equivalent achievement has long eluded him at senior level.
He finished an agonising third in his semi-final at the World Championships in Tokyo last year, his time not quick enough to advance, but he bounced back better than ever this season, twice breaking the Irish indoor 800m record.
English has made five senior finals in his career – all at European level – and won medals in all five, but falling short of a global senior level has been a continued source of frustration in his decorated career.
In today’s semi-final, he slotted in towards the back of the field on the opening lap, biding his time in fifth through the opening half as Britain’s Ben Pattison brought them through 400m in 52.92.
English then made his decisive move, moving up to third with 300m to run and then he surged into the lead approaching the bell. But from there, he simply didn’t have enough left to hold off the challenge of his rivals, and he made a swift exit through the mixed zone after the race.
Elsewhere, there were mixed fortunes for Ireland’s duo in the women’s 60m heats, with Lauren Roy advancing to the semi-finals by one thousandth of a second after a fourth-place finish in 7.25, but teammate Ciara Neville bowed out after a fourth-place finish in 7.31.
Roy produced a polished performance in a loaded heat, won by Luxembourg’s Patrizia van der Weken in 7.14, the Irishwoman edging Ajila del Ponte to fourth by the tiniest margin. With just the top three advancing automatically, she endured a lengthy wait to see if her time was good enough following the subsequent heats and she secured the third and final time qualifier.
“I’m super happy, it was a nervous wait out there,” said Roy, a student at Tarleton State University in Texas. “My goal coming here was to make the semi-finals and I’m delighted to have made it. That race was at 5am Texas time so it’s good to know that my nervous system can get firing that early. 7.25 is absolutely great, but I’ve much more in the tank so I know that later is going to be great.”
Roy will be back on track at 7.30pm Irish time this evening, with the top two to go through automatically and two overall time qualifiers.
Neville, meanwhile, was frustrated after falling short of her PB of 7.27, the Limerick woman clocking 7.31 in a heat won by Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith in 7.07.
“I know that I’m in better shape than that and I really wanted to show that today, but it wasn’t there,” said Neville. “It was an early run and it takes a lot of practice, it’s disappointing I couldn’t show it today. The aim of the season was to be here but it was also to make the semi-final, so it’s definitely disappointing.”
Maeve O’Neill made a bold bid to make the 800m final but in the end, the Cork woman came up short. O’Neill, a student at Providence College in Rhode Island, pitched herself into second through the opening half, but faded to sixth over the last lap, clocking 2:02.46.
“I gave it my best shot and that’s what I had today,” said O’Neill. “I had to go for it. Top two probably wasn’t that realistic but you’re always going to give yourself a chance. It didn’t happen in the end, but I wouldn’t change how I tactically ran. Hopefully it’ll be a long outdoor season and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Andrew Coscoran and Nick Griggs will carry Ireland’s hopes in a loaded men’s 3000m final this evening, a race featuring the full 1500m podium from the Paris Olympics. “I don’t see why I can’t rub shoulders with them,” said Griggs. “It’s going to be interesting to go out there and really put myself in the mix, make a statement, and see if I am as good as I think I am at the minute, as good as I think I can be.”
Live, Virgin Media Two, 5.15pm
men’s 3000m final, 6.22pm
women’s 60m semi-finals, 7.30pm
women’s 60m final, 8.20pm
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