Mark English maintains superb form with another sub-1:44 run in Paris

Mark English dipped below 1:44 again in his latest world class showing.

The Finn Valley AC athlete clocked 1:43.98 - the second fastest time of his career - to finish sixth in the men’s 800m at a Diamond League meet in Paris.

English was just 0.06 of a second off his recent Irish record in a race won by Spain’s Mohamed Attaoui in a season’s best 1:42.73.

Josh Hoey, who has been a recent training partner of English, was second in 1:43.00 with Bryce Hoppel of the United States -  the 2024 World Indoor Championships gold medallist - third in 1:43.11.

English was out of lane 1 and this latest run, at Stade Sébastien Charléty, further outlined his top table credentials.

The 32-year-old Letterkenny native has been is in the form of his life in 2025.

English has broken the Irish record twice lately, going sub-1:44 for the first time when clocking 1:43.92 at the FBK Games in Hengelo, Netherlands having gone 1:44.34 at the Irena Szewińska Memorial in Bydgoszcz, Poland 10 nights earlier.

Last week at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, English finished a Diamond League meet in 1:44.33 - a time that would have been an Irish record but for that stunning sub-1:44 surge in Hengelo.

English is showing the fruits of a new partnership with coach Justin Rinaldi and the Fast 8 Track Club and had opened his outdoor season with victory at the Track Fest meet in Los Angeles 1:44.75.

English has already secured his spot at the 2025 World Athletics Championships, which take place in Tokyo in September. 

Read next: Danny Duffy and Cathal McLaughlin aim to add to Raphoe BC’s rich history

Earlier in the year, the medical doctor - now a five-time European medallist - set a new Irish indoor 800m record of 1:45.15 while running at the Millrose Games in New York.

He won the 800m bronze at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands in March.