Mark English recruited by PACE Sports Management

Mark English has signed up with PACE Sports Management, one of the world's leading management companies, headed up by Milford man Ricky Simms.

Finn Valley AC athlete English, a four-time European medallist, joins a stable that as included global stars like Usain Bolt, Mo Farah, Fred Kerley and Dina Asher-Smith.

English's fellow Irish athletics ace Ciara Mageean is also on the books.

At the European Championships in Munich, English ran 1:45.19 to clinch the 800m bronze medal.

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In July at the World Championships in Oregon, English clocked the fastest Championship 800m ever by an Irish athlete when running 1:44.76 - a time that was only 0.05 seconds off his own Irish record, set last summer.

English was also the European 800m bronze medallist in 2014 and he won indoor silver in 2015 and indoor bronze in 2019.

The 29-year-old now links up with PACE, whose CEO is Milford man Simms.

Among his clients have been sprint sensation Bolt, the eight-time Olympic gold and 11-time World Championship gold medallist.

Ricky Simms (front, right) with the Finn Valley AC intermediate team in 1999

Simms has been listed in Sports Business International's Top 20 most influential sports agents in the world; listed three times in the top 20 most influential people in athletics in the UK; awarded European Athletics Association Coaching honour for Services to Athletics; awarded Athletics Kenya Agent of the Year.

Simms also donned the Finn Valley AC vest and he served as the club captain for five years in the 1990s.

Simms won an 800m title at the Ulster Schools and he was a scorer on the Finn Valley AC team that won the Irish Intermediate Cross-Country title in 1999.

Simms finished eighth and scored alongside Mark Morgan, Martin Bonner and Barry Harron.