With the latest European medal of his career around his neck, Mark English savoured the moment.
When he won bronze at the 2022 European Championships, English wondered if that would be it as far as medals were concerned.
And yet, here he is again: Mark English, European medallist.
In Sunday evening’s 800m final at the European Athletics Indoor Championships, the Finn Valley AC man won bronze. It is the fifth time he has medalled at a European Championships, the third indoors.
“It’s amazing,” English said. “To come away with a medal at this level is always something you have to appreciate. I am happy and I think I’ll be happier as the days go on.
“I have to enjoy these moments. You never know when you’ll get it again. I said when I medalled in Munich that I didn’t know if I would get that chance again so it’s great.
“It’s a reward for the work that I have put in. It’s a nice feeling.”
The Letterkenny native spent a lot of his winter, Christmas included, in the Sierra Nevada mountains. His father, Joe, accompanied to aid with some of the work as English eyed up his latest crack at a major medal.
The 31-year-old, a qualified medical doctor, showed every inch of his experience over the course of his heat, semi-final and final.
In the final, he clocked a time of 1:45.46 – the third fastest indoor time of his career.
He said: “I think that comes with the territory. Most people who are experienced tend to have more of an arsenal of race tactics. It has been quite helpful.
“What a whirlwind of emotions over the last three days. I am just grateful for everyone who has helped me to put the work in.
“You need to be able to run fast. The game has kind of stepped on a bit. I wanted to produce my best times this year. With that will come whatever.”
Dutchman Samuel Chapple delighted the home support when winning in 1:44.88 with Belgium’s Eliott Crestan, the bronze medallist at the last edition of these Championships in Istanbul two years ago – and the World Indoor bronze medal winner last year – second in 1:44.92.
English was a calm figure around three-and-a-half laps of the Omnisport.
When the questions were asked, English made his move and nudged over the line in third.
He said: “It was pretty good out there. I really wanted the gold, but I’m happy with the medal – you have to be at this level. As time goes on, I think I will really appreciate what I’ve done.
“I probably wouldn’t have wanted Chapple to get that much ahead of me, but considering how much the gap was at the end, that’s a good result.
“I thought that Clarke would have a little bit more, but he just didn’t. I thought that Chapple would die a little bit, but he was very strong.
They were a good half-a-second ahead in the end so there wasn’t much I could do about that.”
Now, he moves his attention swiftly to the World Indoors in China later this month.
