BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) 鈥� Irish middle-distance runner Mark English broke a longstanding record in the 800 meters when he won his semifinal heat on Wednesday.
English finished in 1 minute, 43.49 seconds to eclipse Olaf Beyer鈥檚 championship record of 1:43.84 set in 1978 in Prague.
鈥淚t is nice to have the record, for sure, and I felt really good doing it. But there will be a lot of really good guys in the final tomorrow, a lot of really talented runners, so I鈥檒l need to discuss tactics now after this,鈥� the 33-year-old English said as he looked ahead to Thursday’s final.
Beyer, who represented East Germany, had for the title 48 years ago.
鈥淚 saw the record before the race and I thought it would probably be broken by someone at these championships,鈥� said English, a two-time bronze medalist at the European championships.
English gave a shoutout to the Irish fans at Alexander Stadium: 鈥淚 heard them before the race, I heard them during the race, I heard them after it. I think close to 15 percent of went to Irish fans so it鈥檚 amazing to (be) running in front of such a crowd.鈥�
Britain’s Ben Pattison finished second in English’s heat, crossing in 1:43.72.
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