Mark English has been described as the ‘greatest talent’ EVER in Irish middle-distance running.
English won a bronze medal on Sunday evening at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow.
The Letterkenny man is now a three-time European medallist and took his latest place on the podium after an injury-hit spell.
English finished the race at the Emirates Arena in 1:47.39, behind Spain’s Álvaro de Arriba and Britain’s Jamie Webb.
“Consider what he has been through, this is a huge improvement,” said Jerry Kiernan, analysing the race on RTÉ.
“He is the greatest talent that I have actually ever seen in middle-distance running in this country.
“With the World Championships coming up this year and the Olympics next year, these are frightening competitions, but this is a big fillip for him.
“He’s on the road back. He will train now with a new purpose. He will go to Doha in the best frame of mind.”
English previously won silver at the 2015 European Indoors and has a bronze medal from the 2014 European outdoors.
English has the Irish Indoor 800m record and is just two hundredths of a second off David Matthews’ outdoor record (1:44.82).
Kiernan said: “He is only 25 years of age and he has time on his hands.
“A medal here gives impetus for the season ahead. It lends a focus to training and gets him going.”