As Mark English entered the final 200 metres of Friday’s European 800m in Zurich he felt an uncharacteristic calm take over. Sitting sixth in the pack the 21 yer old medical student assessed his opoonents chances, his own reserves and made the decision to move.
“I don’t know where that really came from. Maybe it was just the whole atmosphere of the place, it got the adrenaline flowing. I was just able to think so clearly at that stage in the race,” English sqaid speaking to Off the Ball on Monday.
English admitted the calm and clarity at that late stage was not typical of his past experiences.
“ Usually when I get to that point I’m just holding on for the line and I can’t see a thing, it’s jus ta blur of vests in front of me, but this time it was so clear and it was great becasue I could actually experience the last couple of metres. I knew I was going to get a medal with 60 or 70 metres to go in the race,” English said.
Having been discounted as an outsider in the contest for medals, English felt free of pressure, “The pressure was off...I qualified as the fastest loser so I said I’m just going to go out here and show people what I’m capabale of.” The Donegal man felt able to race without the weight thayt his opponents seemed to carry to the start line, including the heavily fancied Pole Marcin Lewandowski, who faded in the final sates and finished fifth.
“(Lewandowski) is an experienced runner but you could see the pressure was building on him.”
English also spoke to Joe Molloy and David Gillick – in studio filling in for Colm Parkinson – about why before the race he “knew it was going to be a more mental race than a physical one” and why, desp[ite his rising star, he has no intentions of leading a life with just one focus.
Following English's appearance, David Gillick remained on to take a look at the European championships overall, reviewing the performance of Ireland's athletes.
Listen to the interview and our European Championship review via the player below
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