Mark English said he is taking nothing for granted after qualifying for the European 800 metres semi-finals in Munich tomorrow.
The Letterkenny man was first in his heat in a time of 1:47.54
The Finn Valley athlete admitted that he was boxed in and was thankful to get out against some very talented opposition.
“I was panicking a little bit after the first lap as I was boxed in, so thankfully, that opened up.
“There were a lot of good guys in that race, it was a world championship calibre [race].
“You had a world silver medallist in there and four guys who made the world semi-finals, and I knew if I left it any longer, I wouldn’t have been able to move out.”
English said he felt he had a little in reserve and must now be fancied to make it through to Saturday night’s final.
He did, however, sound a cautious note as he has to carry his form into tomorrow’s semi-final.
“I had a little bit more (in reserve), and I was looking at the screen a lot; I basically was looking at the screen for the last 50 metres.
“I haven’t really been tested properly, and I don’t think the other guys were going flat out either, I’ll find out a lot more tomorrow.
“There a lot of talented guys, and I wouldn’t say there is one clear favourite, but there are a lot of good guys. So I won’t count my chickens just yet.”