Brian Fay (Raheny Shamrock AC) has broken the Irish indoor 5,000m record with a blistering 13.16.77 at the BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Opener in Boston to take over 9 seconds off the record set by Barry Keane on December 4th 2021.
The performance comes just weeks after Fay competed in the NCAA cross country championships which saw him claim an outstanding 13th-place (2nd European) finish. The Raheny star crossed in 8th place overall in the early hours of the morning, with previous record holder Barry Keane (Waterford AC) crossing in 14th to also better his old Irish record time in clocking 13:21.57.
Keane’s old Irish record of 13:25.96 had previously bettered the mark set by Alistair Cragg (13:28.93) which had stood since 2003.
Both Fay and Keane will be part of the Irish team taking to cross country action at the European Cross Country Championships in Turin on December 11th.
There was more good news for Irish fans stateside earlier this weekend too, with Stephanie Cotter (West Muskerry AC) becoming only the ninth woman ever to win the NCAA D2 Cross Country title TWICE, having previously taken the race in 2019.
Women’s Race (6000m) – Individual:
1. Stephanie Cotter (Adams State) 19:45.2
2. Lindsay Cunningham (Winona State) 20:27.2
3. Klaudia O’Malley (Grand Valley St.) 20:43.0