About a month after the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo last September, Mark English contacted David Matthews about getting him into an early-season indoor race at the Sport Ireland Arena.
Matthews knew exactly what that meant. Although English had broken his own Irish 800m record three times last summer, taking it down to 1:43.37, and winning a third European Indoor medal last March, it ended as the kindest and cruellest of seasons.
Because at age 32, English was gently usurped by 23-year-old Cian McPhillips, who effectively bumped English out of an 800m final place in Tokyo when winning his semi-final in 1:43.18. He again lowered the Irish record to an astonishing 1:42.15 to finish fourth in the final, just 0.2 of a second off bronze.
“Mark isn’t a man of many words, has always done his talking on the track,” says Matthews. “But it speaks volumes of his character, not to lie down after what Cian did, but to straight away commit again for another season. I just knew his head was back in the game.”
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Matthews, the RTÉ athletics commentator and former Irish 800m record holder, is also director of the track and field live meetings at the Sport Ireland Arena. With that he set up a 600m race on January 14th at English’s request. Without any pacemaker, English smashed his own Irish record, before going on to twice break his Irish indoor 800m record, taking it down to 1:44.23.
That ranks English fifth among the 800m entries for this weekend’s World Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland, based on season’s bests. English turns 33 on Wednesday, which may make him the oldest of 34 entries, but for Matthews, he is also one of the most dangerous.
“When Mark ran his 600m record, he was clearly tuned in already. That’s how Mark rolls. Four days later he won in Luxembourg in a national record. Maybe a little glitch in Lyons, then came back with another national record in Ostrava.
“He’s ranked fifth, but with his experience, Mark is definitely in with a shout against those ahead of him. He’s two rounds to get through first, to make Sunday’s final, but you cannot buy the experience that Mark has of racing indoors.
“Running fast times indoors is one thing, but racing indoors is a completely different kettle of fish. And Mark is finely tuned in that art. He has the ability to be in the right place at the right time, to hug the inside rail if needed, then find a gap.”
Kate O’Connor may be Ireland’s big medal hope in Torun, with her five pentathlon events all set for Sunday, but if English can make the 800m final, he might just get there first.
Back in 2021, English first broke the Irish 800m record, which had stood to Matthews for 26 years after he ran 1:44.82 as a 21-year-old back in 1995. Matthews was also in Tokyo when English walked away despondently after his 800m semi-final, some people thinking that might have been the last of him, given the Donegal athlete also has his medical career to fall back on.
Instead, English appears to be racing better than ever. Certainly indoors. Furthermore, McPhillips will miss Torun, his brief indoor season cut suddenly short by a dental issue. Defending world indoor champion and recent world record breaker Josh Hoey from the US is also absent.
English is in his second season under coach Justin Rinaldi, the former Australian 800m runner with whom Matthews often trained alongside back in his day. Rinaldi has three other medal contenders, including Australian Peter Bol. The 17-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus last month won the US indoor title in 1:44.03, and is another obvious threat.
“Okay, Mark is just turning 33,” says Matthews, “but he’s still got the gears, that burst of speed. Mark is also deceptively big, at 6ft, and knows how to protect his place. He doesn’t just dip in and out of indoors, he’s a seasoned indoor runner.
“My only concern is he’s only had those four races, but he’s delivered medals at times when Ireland hasn’t had a whiff of medals. To finally get a global medal would be another great achievement for him.
“This is not about being the fastest, it’s about being the smartest. Eliott Crestan from Belgium has the fastest time, but Mark has had his number most of the time.
“Lutkenhaus is at the completely opposite end of the age spectrum, but again it’s a different thing running a world championship. And I’d be looking more at the two Polish athletes, Maciej Wyderka (1:44.02) and Filip Ostrowski (1:44.68). Historically Poland has produced some incredible indoor athletes, they’re the ones I’d be earmarking as the big dangers to Mark .”
English has yet to make a global 800m final, but with five European medals to his name – two outdoors and three indoors – few athletes appear better primed to at least make Sunday’s showdown.
– Virgin Media Sport has live TV coverage of all sessions from the World Indoor Championships, starting at 8.55am on Friday
