ENGLISH Mark

Ireland

Athletics

Date of Birth: 18 Mar 1993

Age: 28

Gender: Male

Youth Olympian

Place of birth: LETTERKENNY

Birth Country:

Ireland

Place of residence : IRELAND

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Athletics	Men's 800m

Schedule

Change

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Olympic Stadium - Track	Men's 800m Round 1 - Heat 5	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

Olympic Games

Year	Location	800m
2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	SF (1:45.93)

Youth Olympic Games

Year	Location	1000m
2010	Singapore, SIN	8th (2:24.95)

World Athletics Championships

Year	Location	800m	4 x 400m
2019	Doha, QAT	Heats (1:47.25)	-
2017	London, GBR	Heats (1:48.01)	-
2015	Beijing, CHN	SF (1:45.55)	Heats (3:01.26)
2013	Moscow, RUS	Heats (1:47.08)	-

European Championships

Year	Location	800m
2018	Berlin, GER	Heats (1:48.98)

Diamond League overview - Three best ranks per season and event since 2017

Year	800m
2017	1 x 11th

Diamond League - Ten best performances since 2020

Rank	Year	Event	Location	Result
11	2017	800m	London, GBR	1:47.04

World Athletics Continental Tour - Ten best performances since 2020

Rank	Year	Event	Competition	Location	Result
11	2021	800m	World Athletics Continental Tour	Ostrava, CZE	1:47.85

World Challenge - Ten best performances since 2020

Rank	Year	Event	Competition	Location	Result
4	2017	800m	World Challenge	Hengelo, NED	1:46.02
9	2019	800m	World Challenge	Hengelo, NED	1:48.46

Legend
SF - Semifinal, QF - Quarterfinal, 1R - 1st Round, Qual. - Qualification, QR - Qualification Round, DNF - Did Not Finish, DNS - Did Not Start, DQ - Disqualified, NM - No Mark, [Relay athlete without time] - Did not run in final

Occupation:

Athlete

Education:

Medicine - University College Dublin, Ireland

Languages spoken:

English

Club name:

Dublin Track Club [IRL] / Finn Valley Athletic Club [IRL]

Coach:

Feidhlim Kelly [Dublin Track Club], IRL; Steve Magness [personal]

Sporting relatives:

His aunt Bernie competed as a sprinter at national level in Ireland. (donegaldaily.com, 12 Mar 2020)

Injuries:

In 2015 he was troubled by a trapped nerve in his lower back. (irishexaminer.com, 08 Aug 2015)

Start:

He began to focus on athletics at age 16. (irishexaminer.com, 08 Aug 2015)

Reason:

He also played Gaelic football at school but chose to pursue athletics after finishing second in the 800m at the All-Ireland schools championships at age 16. "I had a lot more time to train in athletics. I knew that I was much more talented at athletics than I was at Gaelic and it would be a bit of a waste if I didn't give it a good shot. I sidelined the Gaelic for a while. I actually enjoyed the running a bit more as there was no responsibility to anyone else but to yourself. You are accountable for your own performance." (irishexaminer.com, 08 Aug 2015)

Ambition:

To compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (donegaldaily.com, 28 Nov 2020)

Memorable:

Winning silver [2015] and bronze [2019] at the European indoor championships, and winning bronze at the 2014 European Championships in Zurich, Switzerland. "I'm very proud of the three European medals. They aren't easy medals to win." (donegaldaily.com, 12 Mar 2020)

Hero:

Irish footballer Roy Keane, Brazilian footballer Ronaldo, British middle-distance runners Sebastian Coe and Steve Cram, Irish middle-distance runner Eamonn Coghlan, Irish distance runner Sonia O'Sullivan. (therunningreview.com, 22 Feb 2012)

Philosophy:

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." [Irish novelist Samuel Beckett] (the42.ie, 30 Jul 2015)

Award:

He was named 2015 Donegal Sports Star for Athletics in Ireland. (donegalpages.com, 30 Jan 2016)

He was named 2014 Donegal News Sports Personality of the Year in Ireland. (donegalnews.com, 16 Jul 2015)

He was named 2014 Athlete of the Year and Track and Field Athlete of the Year by Athletics Ireland. (irishtimes.com, 26 Nov 2014)

General Interest

General
NEW CLUB
In March 2020 he joined Finn Valley Athletic Club in Donegal, Ireland, having previously represented University College Dublin until he finished his studies there. "Finn Valley are a club that are very involved. I'm excited to run with Finn Valley AC and to wear the vest. It's nice to be back in Donegal after eight years away and to be back in Donegal athletics in some small way again. I want to help inspire the young athletes coming up. I'm very close to Bernie [his aunt]. She has been at all of my races and was in Rio for the Olympics in 2016. She was there with me during the tough times so it's fitting that I'm coming into the club she ran with." (donegaldaily.com, 12 Mar 2020)

CLASSMATE TRAGEDY
In June 2015 two of his university classmates, Lorcan Miller and Eimear Walsh, died after a fourth-floor balcony collapsed at an apartment while they were on an exchange at the University of California, Berkeley in the United States of America. "The magnitude of this tragedy caused me to stop in my tracks and think. Were it not for my athletics I may well have been out there myself on a student visa. Less than a year ago I had shared a class holiday with Lorcan and Eimear in Croatia. Events like this put injuries and poor performances into perspective. Athletics is not life and death." (the42.ie, 30 Jul 2015; bbc.com, 17 Jun 2015)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos