English takes stunning 800m win at Diamond League event

Ireland's Mark English produced a storming finish on the home straight to win the men's 800m at Diamond League Shanghai on Saturday.

The Donegal runner weaved his way past four of his rivals in the final 10m to take victory in a new meeting record of one minute 43.85 seconds.

The 33-year-old's stunning performance at China's Textile City Sports Centre saw him collect the $20k (£14,800) first prize on offer for the winner of the event.

Botswana athlete Kethobogile Haingura was edged into second in a time of 1:43.89, with American Brandon Miller third with 1:44.00.

For English, it was a first Diamond League win of his career, having previously won a Diamond League 800m non-league event back in August 2019, when he took victory at the Alexander Stadium in the Muller Grand Prix in Birmingham.

He becomes the first Irish male athlete to win a Diamond League event, joining fellow Irish athletes Ciara Mageean, Rhasidat Adeleke and Sarah Healy in winning events in the elite series.

After the race, English said "it felt great" to win the race against an accomplished field of middle distance runners.

"I wasn't really thinking about the time. I'm delighted to get the win and to beat those guys in a sprint finish.

"There were parts of that race where I thought they were getting away from me. It was just a matter of hanging on and thankfully I had enough left in that last 50m."

English had shown good form in recent months, setting two indoor personal bests during the winter.

He broke his own 600m Indoor Irish record with a time of 1:15:80 in January, the first Irish man to break 1:16 in the event.

The two-time European Championships bronze medallist followed that up with a new 800m Indoor Irish record, his time of 1:44.23 set in February.

English has also collected one silver and two bronze medals at European Indoor Championships.