Solid season opener for Mark English in Sweden

Mark English had a solid season opener in Sweden on Sunday evening.

The Finn Valley AC runner clocked 1:47.62 to finish second in the 800m at the Folksam GP Stockholm in the Sätra Friidrottshall.

The race was won by Swedish athlete Andreas Kramer, the 2018 European silver medallist.

Kramer crossed the line in 1:45.90.

Nextt month, English will take his place among a world class field at the Millrose Games - a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meet - next month.

The Letterknny man will toe the line in a loaded 800m on February 11 at the Nike Track & Field Center at The Armory, New York, a race that will include: USA's Olympic bronze medallist Clayton Murphy; Noah Kibet, the World Indoor silver medallist from Kenya; Bryce Hoppel, USA's World Indoor silver medal winner; and Briton Kyle Langford, who won silver at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Massive PB as Roisin Flanagan breaks Donegal 3,000m record

The Finn Valley AC woman took over 13 seconds off her previous mark while competing in New York

English, last year's European 800m bronze medallist, was named as the 2022 Donegal Sports Star of the Year on Friday night.

English was the outdoor bronze medal winner in 2014, the indoor silver medallist in 2015 and he won indoor bronze in 2019.

Now a qualified medical doctor, the 29-year-old, recently aligned to PACE Sports Management, is aiming to maintain the promising form from 2022.

“I’ll continue to strive to achieve my best in 2023 and beyond,” English told the Donegal Sports Star Awards in a pre-recorded message.

“I hope to continue to do my community in Donegal proud.

“I am so grateful to be included along with so many other talented and accomplished athletes.

“I would like to thank the Donegal Sports Star Awards committee for recognising my achievements over the past year. To be recognised by your own community for the hard work you’ve done is truly a gratifying experience.”

English took bronze at the European Championships in August, clocking 1:45.19 in Munich.
In June, he ran 1:44.76 - the fastest championship 800m in history by an Irish athlete - at the World Championships, finishing tenth and just missing out on the final.

The overall Donegal Sports Star of the Year in 2014 and 2015, English is only the second three-time winner, after Sinead Jennings.

He said: “I want to say a massive thank you to everyone for this incredible honour.

“I’d like to thank Finn Valley AC for their encouragement and support throughout the year, as well as my own coach Feidhlim Kelly, and my family have been rocks through the highs and the lows of my career.”

English staved off competition from a shortlist that also included Amber Barrett, Catriona Jennings, Dylan Browne-Monagle, Emma Doherty and Niamh McLaughlin to land the overall prize.