Donegal man Mark English has won the silver medal in the 800m final in the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Prague, coming in behind winner Marcin Lewandowski from Poland.
English, who won 800m bronze at last year's outdoor European Championships, held off the challenge of the Netherlands’ Thijmen Kupers in the closing metres to seal the silver in a time of 1:47.20.
A delighted English told RTÉ Sport afterwards: "I knew with 400 metres to go that I had to stay in contention. Kupers made a move and he's a strong front runner and I knew he wouldn’t falter.
"I just had to bide my time and with about 150m left I got this well of energy.
"This is my sixth race of the season and I think I came into form at the right time, the other guys have over-cooked it."
The 21-year-old added: “I am absolutely delighted, I can’t really put that into words. I surprised myself out there today with how good I felt.
"When you have that speed over the last 200 and your passing top quality runners like Almgren of Sweden, second in Europe this year, I passed him with ease and it’s just a great feeling.
"It’s a great feeling to do it for those who came over, my family, friends, and teammates. The Irish supporters are better supporters than any of those in the world.”
"I think Zurich [bronze last year outdoors] was a better achievement but I came into this race as one of the favourites and that is something completely different. I am very proud to have moved on at this stage in my career."
John Travers (Donore Harriers AC), meanwhile, finished seventh in the 1500m final running 3:41.50 in a fast race which was won by Czech Republic's Jakub Holusa in a time of 3:37.68.
The Dublin native sat off the strong early pace set by Tanui Ozbilen of Turkey. He closed up on the back of the pack with 600m remaining and managed to pass two athletes over the final 200m.
Travers said: "It was a little bit slower than I thought it would be but at the same time I knew I was in the right spot. I played the race the way I wanted to, unfortunately I missed the break when they made it.
"I think that cost me as I think I was coming back to them towards the finish. I'm a little bit disappointed, but overall it’s a very good championship."
The men's 4x400m relay team finished sixth, in last place, in a highly competitive final won by Belgium in a new European record time of 3:02.87.
The young quarter Irish quartet of Dara Kerwick (23), Tim Crowe (23), Harry Purcell (19) and Brandon Arrrey (19) ran a time of 3:10.61.
Crowe was upbeat afterwards and said: "It was a tough leg running against the Borlee’s from Belgium.
"We need strength in depth. We have strength in depth now and were able to push on and get better as a relay team."
