James McIlroy was almost six seconds down on his best time

The Larne man, representing Britain, never looked comfortable and his time of 1:51.13 was nearly six seconds outside his personal best.

Frenchman Florent Lacasse won the race in 1:45.19 ahead of Germany's Rene Herms (1:45.27).

Dutchman Arnoud Okken and Russian Dmitry Bogdanov were also under 1:46.

Meanwhile, the Irish men and women produced great performances to win promotion at the European Cup Second League meeting in Iceland.

The Irish women won their section with 118 points which left them 8.5 clear of Norway while the men's total of 121 left them behind Norway (126.5) but well ahead of third-placed Denmark (104).

Ballymena athlete Paul Brizzel (200m 21.21), Ciaran O'Connell (800m 1:51.76), Robert Connolly (3000m) and the 4x400m squad (3:08) claimed crucial second day victories for the men's team.

Paul Brizzel helped Ireland win promotion in Iceland

Eugene O'Neill's second place in the 3000m steeplechase (9:05.71) and thirds for Adrian O'Dwyer (high jump 2.21m) and Terry McHugh (javelin 72m) also earned valuable points for the Irish.

The Irish cause was also helped by Peter Monaghan's fourth place in the 110 hurdles and a similar performance by John Menton in the discus.

North Down triple jumper Paul Curran also exceeded expectations by claiming a fifth place.

The women also remained in the top two positions with Freda Daveron (1500m), Eileen O'Keeffe (hammer), Derval O'Rourke (110H) and the 4x400m squad claiming wins.

Ciara Sheehy (200m) and Deirdre Ryan (high jump) also took more solid points by claiming seconds while Donegal athlete Geraldine Stewart punched above her weight in taking sixth in the shot.