IT was the former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly who coined the now over-used term.
“Some people think football is a matter of life and death,” Shankly said in 1973. “I don’t like that attitude. I can assure them it is much more serious than that.”
That sort of climactic sentiment doesn’t sit easily with Mark English (pictured above). After a difficult few months the Letterkenny native has found some perspective.
English ran a season’s best on Saturday at the Anniversary Games at London’s Olympic Stadium, clocking one minute, 45.49 seconds and surpassed the qualifying mark for next year’s Olympic Games in Rio.
A UCD Medicine student, English was fourth in a star-studded field. Botswana’s Nijel Amos was first home in a time of 1:44.57 to get the better of David Rudisha, the Olympic champion from Kenya, who clocked 1:44.67. Third place went to Adam Kszczot from Poland in 1:44.85.
It marked a high-point of the year for English, who, since April is a Sky Sports Academy Scholar and had endured a few difficult months, which started with the death of his grandfather Pat English, a retired Garda Superintendent and formerly of Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, who lived in Gortlee, Letterkenny.
“My grandfather died unexpectedly in May at the start of my end of year medical exams,” English told skysports.com.
“I attended his funeral in the morning and arrived in Dublin three hours later to sit my first exam. Not ideal. But that is what grandad would have wanted me to do.
“He always had a keen interest in his grandchildren’s academic endeavours.
“He was also a big sports fan and even at the age of 88 was fully tuned into athletic events and performances.
“Whilst in London on June 15 to film for Sky Sports, the 22-year-old heard devastating news the following day.
“There was little time to absorb the devastating news I received of the death of two of my medical school classmates in the balcony accident in Berkeley, California,” English said.
“The accident claimed the lives of six students and leaving another seven in a critical condition. The magnitude of this tragedy caused me to stop in my tracks and think.
“Were it not for my athletics I may well have been out there myself on a J1 Visa. Less than a year ago I had shared a class holiday with Lorcan Miller (RIP) and Eimear Walsh (RIP) in Croatia.
“They were two of the brightest, affable and most vivacious people I had ever met.
“Events like this put injuries and poor performances into perspective. I returned from the European team championships on June 23 just in time to attend the funerals of both classmates. My own worries paled into insignificance.
“Athletics is not life and death. In September our class will be missing two vibrant young people who never got a chance to fulfil their potential.”
English’s form thereafter was mixed. At the Cork City Sports a few eyebrows were raised when he finished third earlier this month and, following a three-hour drive back to Dublin for midnight, he was at Dublin airport for 5am the following morning to fly to Tallinn, Estonia, for the European Under-23 Championships.
Having reached the final, English finished in last position, struggling to shake off a niggling injury.
However, Saturday’s excellent performance in London means that although English will never forget what happened over the last few months, he can look forward with optimism.
“In the light of all that has happened so far this summer I realise that it is important to live life to the full,” he added.
“To see that glass half full rather than half empty. There is still half the summer left. There is still time to improve on my form and set my injury straight. I will try to embrace the advice of the writer Samuel Beckett: ‘Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.’
Click here to read Mark English’s full interview on Sky Sports.
Tags:
