English Smashes his 800m Irish Junior Record

Mark English (Letterkenny) has put in a truly top class performance running 1.45.77 to win the 800m at the IFAM meet tonight in Belgium, a new Irish Junior Record. This time improves on his personal best and Irish record of 1.47.09 that he set last year. With this run the 19 year old has also achieved the A standard for the European Track and Field Championships and for the World Juniors, it is also notably very close to the A Olympic Standard of 1:45.60. It also moves him to fifth in the all-time list, moving Marcus O'Sullivan (1.45.87) to sixth.

At the same meet Jessie Barr (Ferrybank AC) finished second in the 400m Hurdles in a personal best of 56.16, well inside the European Standard of 57.10 and edging closer to the A Olympic Standard of 55.50. This only moves Barr to third in the All Time list.

Orla Drumm (UCC AC) has also added her name to the list of Irish Athletes who have achieved the A standard for the European championships. At a meet in Dessau Germany last night she finished sixth in the 1,500m in a time of 4:09.05 improving her personal best by over three seconds. At the same meet Steven Colvert (Crusaders AC) was just one hundredth of a second off his best when he won the 200m in 20.78, finishing well clear if the field. Also in action last night in Chula Vista California was Tori Pena (Finn Valley AC) who won the pole vault with a clearance of 4.50m - just 2cm shy of her Irish record.

Earlier in the week Sarah Collins (Finn Valley AC), set a new Irish junior 5,000m record in Koblenz Germany. The Inter County Cross Country Champion was 12th in her race and the first junior home in a time of 16:41.29 to better Suzanne Huet's 2007 best of 16:48.17.