MARK English was 11th in the men’s 800m at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava.
English trailed off at the end of the race to finish in 1:47.85 at the Mestský Stadion.
The Finn Valley AC man had been at the head of a pack that chased leader and winner Max Burgin.
English was second until 600m, but fell away over the last 200m.
Burgin, the 18-year-old Briton, won in a world lead time of 1:44.14.
The race at the Gold Spike, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, was the start of English’s outdoor pursuits as he chases qualification for the Olympic Games.
English entered the race ranked 33rd with 48 places available for the Olympics.
To automatically qualify for Tokyo, English, a three-time European medalist, would need to run a 1:45.20 in the 800m.
Fellow Irish runner John Fitzsimons finished seventh after setting a new PB of 1:46.62.
Earlier this year, English – who competed at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio – lowered his Irish indoor record to 1:46.10.
English’s outdoor best is 1:44.84, set in July 2013 in London, just two one hundredths of a second outside the Irish record of David Matthews, which has stood for 25 years.
English will compete at the Belfast Irish Milers Meet, on Saturday-week at the Mary Peters Track.
Tags: