Mark English cut the figure of knowing frustration in the bowels of the London Stadium as the Letterkenny man made his exit from the 2017 World Championships.
The 24-year-old has been blighted by a problem with a nerve in his left quad this season and the injury was evident as English came fifth in his 800m heat this afternoon.
English finished the heat in 1:48.01, which meant he didn’t make it to tomorrow’s semi-finals.
“I knew it would be a sprint finish and I wanted to make sure that I had enough left over the last 200, but that wasn’t there today unfortunately,” English said.
“I’ve struggled for that all season with my injury, but that’s the way these things go sometimes.
“The plan was to make sure that I had energy left. When it’s not there, there’s nothing you can do.”
The UCD AC man’s preparation hadn’t been helped by the injury, although he still managed to record some notable results earlier in the summer.
The heat was won by Nijel Amos in 1:47.10, Pierre-Ambroise Bosse was second in 1:47.25 with Adam Kszczot third in 1:47.36.
English, a medical student at UCD, felt he’d have been capable had he been at full tilt.
He said: “I go into every race thinking I can beat anybody. I knew Nijel Amos was the big name this year. He had a few cards that others didn’t.
“I’d beaten the others before. It was a matter of not getting the training done that I wanted this year. I didn’t have it over the last 200 where you really need it and that’s what it came down to in the end.”
English is already turning his mind to 2018.
He added: “I’ll have to reset the button, set new goals for next year and move on.”
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