Another fast-finishing kick by Mark English was rewarded with an Irish record over 1,000m at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava, where a few more metres might have earned him the victory.English has been leaving it late in all his races so far this season, and despite sitting in 12th at the bell lap here, he surged through the field down the homestretch to finish sixth. His time of 2:15.82 knocks over half a second off the previous national record, Luke McCann’s 2:16.40 set in 2022.The 33-year-old was finishing fastest of the lot, and a slightly better-timed effort might have yielded a better result. Australia’s Peter Bol – who, like English, is coached by Justin Rinaldi – took the win in 2:15.13, an Oceanic record.Sharlene Mawdsley misjudged her effort in the 400m, going out a little too fast, but still held on for third with a 50.28 effort, just shy of her 50.17 lifetime best set when winning in Brussels last month.Victory went to Lurdes Gloria Manuel in front of her home crowd, the 20-year-old Czech improving her lifetime best to 49.74. Mawdsley was running alongside Manual down the backstretch before losing a little ground.The Tipperary athlete started 2026 with a lifetime best of 50.71, set at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and the 50-second barrier is clearly within her reach. She turns 28 on August 10th, the same day the European Championships start in Birmingham, where she could end up racing in four events: the 200m and 400m individual events, and the women’s and mixed 4x400m relays.Noah Lyles and Gout Gout went head-to-head in the 150m, where Lyles produced a world record time of 14.67 in the rarely-raced distance, while the 18-year-old Australian finished third in 14.96.Then came Benji Richardson, the former South Africa athlete now representing Ireland, who clocked 15.14, fading a little in the homestretch after leading off the short bend.Nick Griggs was just outside his own Irish under-23 record in the mile, clocking 3:52.81 for in eighth, just shy of the 3:52.42 he ran last summer. The Tyrone 21-year-old got boxed in down the backstretch and left his effort late, with USA’s Nathan Green taking the win in 3:49.44.Dutch star Femke Broeders-Bol made her first outdoor appearance in her new event, the 800m, but had to be content with second in Broeders-Bol running 1:57.13, behind Switzerland’s Audrey Werro in 1:54.45. Ireland’s Emma Moore improved her lifetime best to 2:00.71 in ninth.Bori Akinola was outside his best of 10.19 in the 100m, finishing sixth in 10.30, with South Africa’s Bayanda Walaza taking the victory in a personal best of 9.94.