Third for Mark English, new Irish record for Roisin Flanagan at Millrose Games

Mark English finished third in the men’s 800m and Roisin Flanagan clocked a new Irish record over two miles at the Millrose Games in New York on Sunday evening.

The Millrose Games are a part of the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold series and the Finn Valley duo were up against some of the world’s leading athletes.

English crossed the line in 1:46.61 for third, behind USA’s Bryce Hoppel, who won in 1:45.54 and Kenyan Noah Kibet, who finished in 1:46.09.

Hoppel was the 2022 World Indoor bronze medalist with Kibet, the silver medalist at the same Championships.

English, going out of lane 3 at The Armory, was to the rear after 600m, passing in 1:18.96, but went up the gears on the final lap to get home in third.

Letterkenny native English, a four-time European medalist, holds the Irish indoor 800m of 1:46.10 which he set in 2021.

English arrived in the Big Apple having set a new Irish indoor 600m best six evenings previous in Boston. There, at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, English timed 1:16.64 to nudge ahead of Puerto Rico’s John Rivera for the win and low Zak Curran’s mark of 1:17.52 set in 2016.

The 30-year-old will come across the Atlantic again for the Irish Indoor Championships in decent stead following a pair of useful outings Stateside.

On Saturday, English will begin the defence of his Irish Indoor 800m title when he goes under starter’s orders at the National Indoor Arena in Abbotstown and bid to win an 18th Irish senior gold.

Cian McPhillips, seen as the main challenger to English’s crown, has ran slightly quicker this year, going 1:46.43 at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Saturday.

The World Indoor Championships take place in Glasgow - where English won a European Indoor bronze in 2019 - in March.

Flanagan was in a loaded field in the women’s two mile race and came through in 9:36.70.

Flanagan, off the back of a recent injury, finished in 12th and took a significant chunk off the previous national best of 10:43.33, set by Ailish Hawkins in Boston last March.

A measure of the competition for Flanagan was the European record of 9:04.84 set by race winner Laura Muir.

Flanagan opened her 2024 campaign last month in New Mexico when winning a one mile race in New Mexico in 4:40.12 - a new Donegal record for the distance.

Meanwhile in Czech Republic on Saturday, Finn Valley AC high jumper Sommer Lecky leaped to 1.79m, placing fifth and continuing a consistent start to 2024, while club colleague Cara Laverty set a new PB and club record of 2:08.62 while competing in Boston.