MARK ENGLISH bowed out of the IAAF World Championships after finishing seventh in his men’s 800m heat in Doha.
English surged away with an unusually-aggressive approach and led at the 400m marker, taking the bell in 51.89 seconds.
The 26-year-old paid a heavy price for the tactics as the other six competitors in the heat had all passed him by the time the Letterkenny man – who opened in lane 2 – reached the line in 1:47.25.
The searing temperatures, beyond a baking 40 degrees in the Khalifa International Stadium, were going to make for a difficult experience in any case.
The race was won by Kenyan Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich in 1:45.98, with Bryce Hoppel of USA (1:46.01) and Abdessalem Ayouni from Tunisia (1:46.09) also taking the automatic qualifier places.
English was a late inclusion to the entry list for these Championships – the fourth World Championships of his career.
It was only on Friday-week past, just eight days ago, that the Letterkenny man received confirmation of his inclusion via the IAAF’s quota system.
English was .04 seconds away from the qualifying time last month.
The UCD AC man, who qualified as a doctor this year, ran 1:45.98 to win an 800m in England last month having come from nowhere to take an eye-catching 1:45.94 win at a Diamond League meet in Birmingham.
Earlier this year, English won bronze at the 2019 European Indoor Championships in Glasgow – the third time he won a European medal – and followed that up with his latest Irish senior 800m title.
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