Mark English

Mark English (born 18 March 1993) is an Irish middle-distance runner. He is the Irish national record holder over 800 metres indoors and the 2026 European Champion in 800 metres, the first Irish male athlete to win an individual gold medal in the history of the Championships.

Early life English's home town is Letterkenny in County Donegal. He attended secondary school at St Eunan's College. He only made the switch to athletics during his Transition Year, having previously played Gaelic football for Letterkenny Gaels at under-age level. While a member of Letterkenny Athletic Club in his teens, he tested himself against the Gaelic footballer Caolan Ward.

English studied medicine at University College Dublin (UCD), where his classmates included Dublin's multiple All-Ireland winning Gaelic footballer Jack McCaffrey—considered that sport's quickest player. English has issued a challenge to McCaffrey to take him on over 100 metres. After qualifying as a doctor in 2019, he initially intended to step aside from medical practice in order to focus on athletics full-time, but when the 2020 Olympics were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he took the opportunity to complete his 12-month medical internship.

Career At the 2014 European Athletics Championships, English won a bronze medal in the 800 metres event. On 8 March at the 2015 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Prague, English won a silver medal.

In 2014, English finished 2nd at the Adidas Grand Prix as part of the 2014 IAAF Diamond League. English finished 4th at the 2014 IAAF Continental Cup, representing Team Europe.

In 2015, he finished 9th at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, China.

He represented Ireland at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Later that year, English ran the 2nd quickest of all-time for 500m at the Great CityGames, finishing 2nd to 2016 Olympic 800m winner David Rudisha.

On 3 March 2019, English won a bronze medal in the 800 metres at the 2019 European Athletics Indoor Championships. Following this, the RTÉ analyst Jerry Kiernan (himself a former athlete) described English as historically the country's "greatest talent" in middle-distance running. Several years earlier, Kiernan had claimed that English was better than Michael Murphy — the All-Ireland winning football team captain long held to be his county's greatest ever athlete. Kiernan justified this remark with the comment: "[Murphy] is playing against lads from Monaghan. Mark English is running against Kenyans".

In August 2019, English won the 800 m at the Birmingham 2019 Diamond League.

In August 2022, he won a bronze medal in the 800 m at the 2022 European Athletics Championships in Munich.

In March 2025, he won a bronze medal over 800 metres at the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships. In May 2025, he ran a new 800 metres national record of 1:44.34 at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Bydgoszcz.

In May 2026, he ran a meeting record of 1:43.85 to win on the Diamond League, moving from fifth to first in the final ten metres to catch Botswana's Kethobogile Haingura on the line at the 2026 Shanghai Diamond League.

On 13 August 2026, English won the 800 metres at the European Championships in Birmingham, England, becoming the first Irish man to win an individual gold medal in the history of the championships.

Records achieved 800 m Outdoor On the 29th of June 2021, Mark ran 1:44.71 to break David Matthews Irish record of 1:44.82, which had stood since 1995.

On the 9th of June 2025, Mark was the first Irishman to ever break 1:44 in the 800 m running 1:43.92, which he followed up with two more sub 1.44s and another national record of 1:43.37 on the 12th of August 2025.

800 m Indoor On the 2nd of February 2014 Mark ran 1:46.82 to break Daniel Caulfield's Irish record of 1:47.21 which had stood since 2001.

Mark is still the current Irish Indoor record holder with his time of 1:44.23 set the 3rd of February 2026. Holding the record for over 12 years now. This also placed him as the 11th fastest athlete in history, and 6th fastest ever in Europe.

600 m Indoor Mark broke his own 600 m Indoor Irish record with a time of 1:15:80 on the 15th of January 2026, the first Irish man to break 1:16 in the event.

Other work English has been active in encouraging people to read more books.