Mark English eases to victory in heat at the European Championships
Mark English was an easy winner of the first heat of the 800m at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham.
The Finn Valley AC man took the win in 1:46.96 to take the win, ahead of Croatian runner Marino Bloudek in 1:47.23.
Italy’s Giovanni Lazzaro was third and the final automatic qualifier for the semi-finals.
Belgium’s Eliott Crestan, a World Indoor silver medalist in 2026, did not start the heat and made it a much more comfortable race for the 33-year-old.
Sitting in third at the bell with 400m to go, English was well placed and went wide to get up beside Bloudek, before cruising into the lead in the final 100m.
English will be back in action on Wednesday afternoon in the semi-finals
“I feel really good,” English said after the race in Alexander Stadium.
“It was just a matter of getting the job done today, and I managed to do it, so I move on to the semi-finals on Wednesday.
“(Preparation) went well apart from the Achilles flare, but I went to altitude in Sierra Nevada, and that’s what seems to work for me.
“I’ll talk to Justin (Rinaldi), my coach. We don’t know what the draw is going to be yet. Different athletes run races in different ways so we’ll have a look at it and see.”
In July, English set a new Personal Best of 1:42.97 at the Diamond League meeting in London, and he will be setting his sights on a sixth European medal this week.
“I do feel as good as I’ve ever felt, but I’d say a lot of people feel that way.
“Times don’t mean everything coming into the championships, but I’ll be excited to execute a new race plan again for the semi-final, and hopefully it works.
“I’ll try and recover as much as I can, nutrition-wise, sleep and hydration. It’s boring, but that’s all part of the job.”