Some Irish medal hopes may have thinned out over the opening three days, but Mark English has put himself back in contention to win a fifth European medal in making the 800m final in Apeldoorn, calling on all his maturity and experience in the process.
The 31-year-old won silver at the European Indoor Championships back in 2015, and bronze in 2019 – also winning two outdoor bronze medals over 800m – and goes into Sunday’s final running as well if not better than ever.
With only the top three from the two semi-finals progressing, there was little room for error in the eight-man race. That made for a close race, English crucially getting himself into third place after the first lap, holding that spot until the bell.
He did drop back to fourth down the backstretch, before calmly coming through on the inside to nail third, Eliott Crestan from Belgium winning in 1:45.84, Samuel Chapple from the Netherlands second in 1:45.86 and English clocking 1:45.89.
Ireland’s Mark English qualifies for 800m final at European Indoor Championships
Sarah Lavin finishes fourth in 60m hurdles final at European Indoor Championships
Irish women have real medal-winning potential at European Indoor Championships this weekend
Sharlene Mawdsley withdraws from 400m heats at European Indoors
After lowering his Irish record to 1:45.15 last month, breaking 1:46 indoors for the first time, that was still one of the fastest times of his career, the qualified doctor from Donegal clearly satisfied with his effort.
“A massive weight off the shoulders,” English admitted. “As I said yesterday, it’s a new day today, and it will be a new day tomorrow.
“My plan was to try to be in contention for as much of it as possible, I feel like I did that. I doesn’t get any easier, 10 years later, everything gets tougher, but I’ll go into it with a plan, try to execute that plan as best I can.”
Sunday’s final is set for 4.27pm Irish time.
Cian McPhillips went in the first semi-final, the 22-year-old from Longford reinstated after being tripped in his heat. Despite putting himself in contention to also qualify, holding second place after 200m, he ended up seventh in 1:47.40.
Bori Akinola was back inside the Omnisport Arena after qualifying from his 60m heat earlier on Saturday, where the 23-year-old had finished second in 6.66 seconds after an excellent start.
Racing in the second of three semi-finals, Akinola started well again, but was unable to secure one of the top-two automatic final spots. Britain’s Andy Robertson won in 6.56 seconds, Akinola fourth in 6.63, just outside his best of 6.61
“I’ll definitely take the positives from that,” he said, Apeldoorn being his first individual senior championships. “And I’m really looking forward to the outdoor season.”
Earlier on Saturday, Sarah Healy also made certain of her place in the final of the 3,000m, winning her heat with ease and utter assurance.
Healy had come to Apeldoorn in the form of her young life, ranked second in Europe this season over the distance having just turned 24. She has all the necessary experience to challenge for a top-three finish in Sunday’s final showdown (4.36pm Irish time).
Running in the first of two heats, Healy kept herself at the front of the race throughout, moving in front on the last lap and winning in 8:55.35, all while expending the minimal amount of effort. There was no such joy for Jodie McCann, who finished the second heat in 10th place in 9:18.73.
“I’m definitely relieved to qualify safely,” said Healy. “I feel like that as far as heats go it wasn’t too messy or stressful. I’ve never done a 3,000m heat before but I think it’s a little bit less stressful than a 1,500m heat, you have a bit more time to sort yourself out ... It felt good.”
Britain’s Melissa Courtney-Bryant, the fastest European this season, won that second heat in 9:08.19, and there are plenty of other threats too, including Salome Afonso from Portugal, who has placed second in the 1,500m.
Andrew Coscoran also came to Apeldoorn ranked third in the men’s 3,000m, after also breaking the national record, and making Sunday’s final (3.50pm Irish time) was the very least of his ambitions.
Things were a little trickier here, still Coscoran kept his head as the pace heated up over the closing laps, with Jakob Ingebrigtsen doing what he always does in qualifying when coming from the back to the front. The Norwegian star won in 7:55.32 and is well on course to complete a third 1,500m/3,000m double.
Coscoran held on for fifth in 7:56.37, the top six all sure of advancing, and the race for second and third will certainly be tight. Coscoran has given himself a chance and that’s plenty good for now. “I’m really looking forward to the final tomorrow, I’m very confident coming into it,” he said.
In the first heat, James Gormley placed eighth in 7:53.27, that race won by Britain’s George Mills in 7:50.87.
Also in the morning session, Orla Comerford made the most of the new inclusion of a mixed Para Athletics event at the European Indoor Championships in the Netherlands in winning the 60m in terrific style, her time of 7.63 seconds just outside her lifetime best.
The 27-year-old, who won bronze in the T13 100m at the Paris Paralympics, dominated the race from the gun.
“This opportunity only came four weeks ago, and I started back late after Paris, so when the chance came around, we had to take it,” she said, her time just short of her lifetime best of 7.62. “It’s huge for Para Athletics to be here, Para Athletics is athletics, and athletics fans understand it. This is the first year they’ve had para races involved in the championships, and hopefully it will grow.”
Kate O’Connor is also in action in Sunday’s closing sessions, ranked second among the entries in the women’s pentathlon.
