Mark English believes he is in the best shape of his life as he bids to reach the final of the 800m at the World Athletics Championships.
The Donegal middle distance runner and Cian McPhillips will both be in semi-final action in Tokyo this afternoon (1.45pm, live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player), with English coming through his heat in a time of 1:45.13.
The 32-year-old three-time Olympian is feeling in confident mood.
"I'm coming into this championships in the best shape of my life," English told RTÉ Sport.
"It's an extremely stacked event at the minute. I think it's the second highest event with the automatic qualifiers after the steeplechase.
"So it's a very competitive event with a lot of depth and it's great to be a part of it."
Longford native McPhillips impressed in his heat, winning it with ease in a time of 1:44.91.
The 23-year-old, ranked 53rd in the event ahead of these championships, is hopeful he can back up his performance in the heat.
"I think we've seen a number of events, people's PBs and season's bests don't always materialise on the track," he said.
"If you look at my season's best there, I'm one of the last or one of the last ones in, so yeah, delighted I could deliver.
"And it was a tough race, I'm going to be tired for the semi-final, but it's going to be quick, hopefully get a hold around and get a nice PB out of it and see what happens."
Watch the World Athletics Championships with coverage every day this week on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
