Mark English called on all his class and experience to produce a terrific victory over 800 metres at the Shanghai Diamond League, kicking from fifth to first inside the last few strides to clock a meeting record of 1:43.85 seconds.At one point down the backstretch English appeared to have lost touch with the leaders, but he kept his cool and inside lane around the final bend, before eventually finding a way through four runners in the last 50 metres to record a rare Irish victory on the Diamond League circuit.At 33, his 1:43.85 was also the second fastest time of his career, behind the 1:43.37 he clocked last August, an Irish record at the time. Kethobogile Haingura from Botswana was a close second in 1:43.89, with English eclipsing the meeting record of 1:43.91 which had stood to Wyclife Kinyamal from Kenya since 2018.“I felt great,” said English, who picked up $20,000 as the 800 was worth double points this time. “I wasn’t really thinking about the time. We went through slow enough, but just delighted to get the win, and beat them guys in the sprint finish.“And to just hang in there, basically. There were points in that race when I felt like they were getting away from me, so it was just a matter of hanging on, and thankfully I had enough left in that last 50m.”With that the Donegal athlete and doctor became only the fourth Irish athlete to win a Diamond League event since the circuit was introduced in 2010. Sarah Healy produced a similarly impressive kick to win the 1,500m in Rome last June, Rhasidat Adeleke also winning the 400m in Monaco in 2024, with Ciara Mageean winning the 1,500m in Brussels in 2022.English did win the 800m in Birmingham in 2019, but that race wasn’t part of the Diamond League programme. The Finn Valley AC athlete surrendered his Irish record to Cian McPhillips, who ran 1:42.15 to finish fourth at the World Championships in Tokyo last September, although English is showing no signs of slowing down.“I’ve been working hard,” added English. “Thankfully at this point in my career I haven’t been injured, and still have the hunger. It’s looking good for the summer. And I have to thank my coach Justin Rinaldi for keeping me motivated, it’s important to say that.”English will next race the Rabat Diamond League on May 31st, before the Rome event on June 4th, where Healy will also be back in action, this time over the 5,000m.Meanwhile at the National 5km Championships in the Phoenix Park, Ben Guiden from Clonliffe Harriers and Dundrum South Dublin’s Ella Fennelly secured the senior honours.Guiden produced a composed performance to claim his first senior national title in 14:27, adding to a memorable period for the Guiden family after brother Ian captured the national 10km title at the same venue last month. Aaron Donnelly of Dundrum South Dublin finished second in 14:29, helping DSD retain the senior men’s team title, while clubmate Killian Mooney completed the podium in 14:38.The senior women’s race proved equally competitive, Fennelly delivering an impressive performance to go one better than her runner-up finish in 2024 and secure her first senior national title in 16:03. Defending champion Amy Greene of Finn Valley AC claimed silver in 16:30, while Maebh Brannigan of Galway City Harriers took bronze in 16:34.