Donegal athlete Mark English says he’s proud of his accomplishments this year, after being welcomed home from the Paris Olympics to the county.
A large crowd of friends, family and old acquaintences made it to Finn Valley AC this afternoon to welcome English back home.
After a year where he broke the Irish 800m record numerous times, English finished 6th in his 800m Olympic semi-final, just narrowly missing out on a spot in the final.
However, English says he’s still proud of his accomplishments this year after his third Olympic appearance, despite the initial disappointment.
“On reflection of it all I’m obviously proud of what I’ve achieved this year setting national records over 600m and 800m,” he told Donegal Daily.
“All-in-all I can be proud of the whole year. Obviously in the aftermath of these events the reaction can be visceral. As athletes we always want more.”
However there were still plenty of positives and incredible moments from the Paris games for him to look back fondly on – especially his superb performance in the heats.
“I was up against Gabriel Tual from France (in the heats) and it was just a brilliant atmosphere to be a part of, it was probably the best atmosphere of that day.”
“To come across the line fighting for the win fighting for that win was a tremendous experience, and that’s something that I’d love to be able to re-live again.”
The 31-year-old also confirmed he will keep going for another year at the highest level at the very least.
“I’ll be continuing on next year for the European Indoors, World Indoors and World Outdoors Championships, and I’m looking forward to it again.”
You can watch his full conversation with Donegal Daily‘s Charlie Collins below:
