BRITISH pair Max Burgin and Ben Pattison progressed to Thursday’s men’s 800 metres final on day three of the European Championships in Birmingham.

Pattison, who claimed bronze in this city at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, finished a place behind Ireland’s Mark English, who broke a 48-year-old championship record when winning the second semi-final in a time of one minute 43.49 seconds.

English moved clear in the final straight to knock 0.35 seconds off the previous best mark, set by East Germany’s Olaf Beyer in 1978.

Pattison’s hopes of qualifying never looked in danger, though, and he secured second spot ahead of Frenchman Corentin Le Clezio, with the top three guaranteeing their qualification.

“I knew what I needed to do because I’ve not been doing it all year,” Pattison said. “Today was the day to get it right and I managed to do that. Looking forward to the final.

“That [championship record] just explains 800m-running everywhere in the world, especially Europe, it’s just levels above at the moment and where it used to be. My heat the other day was harder than my semi-final in 2022.”

Burgin emerged out of the pack on the final lap of the first semi-final and crossed the line in 1:44.73, ahead of Croatia’s Marino Bloudek and Spain’s David Barroso.

The Halifax-born athlete saw his chances at this summer’s Commonwealth Games ruined by a virus, but he will get the chance to compete for a medal in Thursday’s showpiece at the Alexander Stadium.