Mark English set a new European Championship 800 metres record as he won his semi-final in style in Birmingham this afternoon. English finished very strongly to win the second semi-final in a super time of 1:43.49. The record had stood since 1978 but was beaten by the Finn Valley AC man who put himself in a good position early on in the race. AdvertisementThe Letterkenny native looked strong throughout and took his opportunity down the home straight, winning ahead of Great Britain’s Ben Pattison and France’s Corentin Le Clezio. The 800 metres final will be held on Thursday evening at 9.28pm and English will have his eyes on a sixth European medal.