Irish athlete breaks 48-year-old European 800m record to reach final

Irish athlete Mark English has produced a stunning performance to win his 800 metres semi-final in a championship-record time of 1:43.49 and book his place in Thursday night’s European Championship final.

English, who will now aim to add another European title to his medal collection, lined up in the second of the two semi-finals knowing he needed to finish among the top three, while the next two fastest athletes would also qualify, Caliber.Az reports, citing Irish media.

Roared on by strong Irish support inside the Alexander Stadium, English settled into third place as the runners reached the bell, which came in a rapid 51.36.

He lost some ground on the opening part of the final bend but remained composed. When a gap opened on the home straight, English accelerated through it and powered clear to take the win.

Britain’s Ben Pattison finished second in 1:43.72, also comfortably inside the qualifying mark.

English’s winning time broke a championship record that had stood for 48 years.

The previous mark of 1:43.84 was set by East Germany’s Olaf Beyer in 1978.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov