English only chink of light on poor day for Irish in Glasgow

Amid a torrent of underperformances, the outlook decidedly grey for much of the day, a chink of light. It emerged via Mark English, the 25-year-old defying what appeared the convention for the Irish team on the opening day of the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow.

English only chink of light on poor day for Irish in Glasgow

Amid a torrent of underperformances, the outlook decidedly grey for much of the day, a chink of light. It emerged via Mark English, the 25-year-old defying what appeared the convention for the Irish team on the opening day of the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow.

This was English at his brilliant, ebullient best. Coasting in the slipstream of the leader through the opening three laps of his 800m heat, shifting gears when he hit the back straight for the final time, and then moving at a pace — and with a level of apparent comfort — that his rivals could only dream of emulating.

He came home a serene, superlative winner in 1:49.38 to book his spot in this evening’s semi-final. As comfortable as it looked? “It felt very easy,” he admitted. “I don’t think tomorrow will be so easy but that’s the nature of the game.

Four years ago in Prague he won silver at this event, and the manner of his victory last night suggested he could be ready to repeat that — or maybe go one better.

“I’ll be ready,” he said of tonight’s race. “I am in a good place. I want to put myself in contention, execute my race plan at the business end. I know I’ve stayed too far back in the past so I don’t want to make that mistake again. I’ve got good finishing speed.”

Moments before English coasted through, Ciara Mageean became the first Irish athlete to advance to a final, but the UCD athlete had to dig deep — very deep — to do so.

She tracked chief rival Simona Vrzalova through the majority of her 1500m heat before attempting to kick past in the straight, at which point the tank was suddenly, alarmingly, running on empty.

Mageean’s third place in 4:08.15 got her through to tomorrow’s final as a time qualifier, but the 26-year-old was left in a dire state of fatigue from the effort, unretreating outside the arena to vomit in the car park.

I was a wee bit disappointed as I wanted an automatic qualifier but I’m through to the final at least,” she said.

“I wanted to put myself in position for the final and I did that. I’m looking forward to getting out there.”

No such chance for Phil Healy, whose face said it all after her 400m heat yesterday. It was an expression of surprised anguish, an athlete who knew, in the space of 50 faltering final metres at the end of the race, her medal chance had evaporated.

Phil Healy after finishing third in the Women’s 400m semi-final and failing to reach the final.
Phil Healy after finishing third in the Women’s 400m semi-final and failing to reach the final.

The 24-year-old’s bid to reach the women’s 400m final ended in last night’s semi-finals — Healy coming home third in 53.65 — but the seeds of her shortfall were sown hours before.

It was in the afternoon’s heats where she miscalculated, however slightly, her distribution of energy, ripping through the first lap with a clear lead only to find her legs bankrupt as she turned for home.

“Lane six is great but you don’t see the girls behind you and I was expecting the French girl to go out quick but I went out too quick,” she said. “I tried to slow down then but it cost me.”

She faded from first to third as she approached the line, crossing it in 53.13, her passage into the semi-final coming via a non-automatic qualifying spot. Once there, Healy was always wading against an overwhelming tide, drawn in lane two and never looking likely to grab one of the two spots in today’s final.

Out, but not down. “I put myself out there, used my strength and finished off third,” she said. “I’m happy I got to the semi, I gave the best account of myself out there.

She indicated afterwards that she will revert to her favoured 200m for the outdoor season, where the World University Games will be her priority.

There was disappointment, too, for Thomas Barr, the Waterford star failing to shine and turning in one of his worst performances in an Irish vest, fifth and last in his 400m heat in 48.22. He could find no explanation, and certainly offered no excuses. “I wasn’t quick enough,” said Barr. “I wasn’t relaxed, I wasn’t myself and I don’t really know what went wrong.”

Síofra Cléirigh-Buttner was way off her best in the women’s 800m heats, bowing out after finishing fourth in 2:06.00, while Cillín Greene never had a chance in his 400m heat. The national champion was first halted at the mid-race break of lanes, then crashed to the track after an athlete fell in front of him on the second lap.

Sean Tobin ran well to finish fifth in his 3000m heat in 7:56.29, but John Travers ran out of steam and slowed to a relative jog as he trailed home 14th in 8:12.54.

more courts articles

Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother
Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van
Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman

More in this section

Manchester City v Liverpool FC - Premier League S Larry Ryan: Should we let coach Klopp write his own ending?
Donegal v Tyrone - Ulster GAA Football Senior Championship Semi-Final Cork vs Mayo game switched from Mallow, Fermanagh vs Armagh rescheduled
Cork v Kerry - Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 1 Limerick forced to move National Hurling League game from Gaelic Grounds
ieStyle Live 2021 Logo
ieStyle Live 2021 Logo

IE Logo
Outdoor Trails

Discover the great outdoors on Ireland's best walking trails

IE Logo
Outdoor Trails

Sport
Newsletter

Latest news from the world of sport, along with the best in opinion from our outstanding team of sports writers

Sign up
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited