Mark English breaks Irish 800m record for second time in four days after brilliant run in Madrid

On Tuesday evening in Turku, Finland, English broke his previous national record of 1:44.71 by clocking 1:44.69, a time which secured him qualification for his third straight Olympic Games.

Sharlene Mawdsley was also in action in Madrid, the Newport sprinter clocking the second fastest time of her career over 400m, 50.82, to finish second. Sarah Healy came home second in the 800m in 2:01.30, while Nick Griggs of Candour Track Club was sixth in the 1500m in 3:35.64. Griggs is currently 51st on the Road to Paris rankings list, with the top-40 set to earn a place at the Games, although three Irishmen are ahead of him: Andrew Coscoran has run the automatic qualifying standard and both Cathal Doyle and Luke McCann are currently sitting within the quota, with the qualification window closing on June 30. Nicola Tuthill was seventh in the hammer throw in Madrid, throwing a best of 69.33m.

Meanwhile, organisers of the Los Angeles Olympics have announced that athletics will take place during the opening week of the 2028 Games, with swimming set to be staged during the second week. The reason for the switch is that the swimming events will be hosted at SoFi Stadium, which is also due to feature in the opening ceremonies and will need a number of days to be ready to host events. The stadium will have seating for 38,000 fans for the Olympic swimming programme. The athletics events will be staged at the LA Memorial Coliseum, which also staged the 1932 and 1984 Games. Both World Aquatics and World Athletics have approved the plan.

“We are excited to support this visionary timetable change for LA28,” said Sebastian Coe, President of World Athletics. “This change underscores our commitment to innovation in athletics and elevating the global profile of our athletes. By prioritising athletics in the first week, the Games will witness the most thrilling of starts, captivating audiences worldwide and setting the stage for an unforgettable Olympic journey for global audiences.”

The LA Games will be held from 14-30 July 2028, featuring over 10,000 athletes from more than 200 nations competing in 35 sports.