Newly crowned European 800m champion Mark English plans to skip the Diamond League Final in Brussels as he turns his full attention towards the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest.
English had already secured his place in Brussels following the latest round of Diamond League action. However, his training group, Fast8 Track Club, has confirmed that the 33 year old intends to prioritise the new global championship.
Brussels Final Berth Already Secured
English currently sits seventh in the Diamond League 800m standings with 15 points.
The bulk of those points came from his victory in Shaoxing in May, where he produced a trademark late charge to win in a meeting record of 1:43.85.
He followed that with second place in London in July, lowering his personal best to 1:42.97 behind American Brandon Miller, who won in 1:42.19.
Those two results were enough to secure English’s place in the Diamond League Final in Brussels on 4 and 5 September. Budapest begins less than a week later, running from 11 to 13 September.
Skipping Brussels removes another demanding 800m from his schedule and gives English a clear run into what is now his biggest remaining target of the season.
major championship, and English’s decision suggests he views it in exactly those terms.
Who Is Currently in the Ultimate Championships Men’s 800m Quota?
At the time of writing, the World Athletics Road to Ultimate tracker places the following 16 athletes inside the men’s 800m quota:
- Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Kenya
- Marco Arop, Canada
- Mohamed Attaoui, Spain
- Max Burgin, Britain
- Brandon Miller, United States
- Mark English, Ireland
- Eliott Crestan, Belgium
- Djamel Sedjati, Algeria
- Navasky Anderson, Jamaica
- Cian McPhillips, Ireland
- Ben Pattison, Britain
- Peter Bol, Australia
- Gabriel Tual, France
- Handal Roban, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Slimane Moula, Algeria
- Donavan Brazier, United States
The list remains provisional. Ranking positions can still change before 1 September, while the Diamond League Final offers another route into Budapest.
If the Diamond League winner has already received an invitation through the Olympic title, world title or rankings, the automatic place passes to the highest finisher who has not yet secured one.
English Heads to Budapest on a Serious High
English could hardly arrive in Budapest with greater confidence.
He produced a championship record of 1:43.49 in his European semi final in Birmingham, taking down Olaf Beyer’s 1:43.84 mark which had stood since 1978.
One night later, English judged the final perfectly. He remained patient before powering clear in the closing stages to win gold in 1:45.26.
It was his first major senior outdoor title and made him the first Irish man to win an individual gold medal at the European Athletics Championships. It also brought his total number of European medals to six.
English has spent more than a decade collecting medals at continental level, but Birmingham was the night he finally reached the top step.
Budapest presents a much more severe examination. He will be facing Olympic champions, world champions and several men capable of running deep into 1:42 territory.
Still, English has never been faster, and his ability to handle championship rounds was plain to see at the Europeans.
The Diamond League Final would have offered prestige, significant prize money and the possibility of Irish athletics history. English has decided that Budapest matters more.
Given the field awaiting him, there will be no soft landing. But after what happened in Birmingham, nobody will be treating Mark English as an outsider.
Image: Perri Williams
