Darragh McElhinney has broken the long-standing Irish record for 5km on the road, clocking 13 minutes and 22 seconds at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen.
In a thrilling race that saw Olympic and recent World Ultimate champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen losing out to Dawit Seare from Eritrea in the final few strides, with Seare also setting a national record of 12:56, McElhinney bettered the Irish record of 13:26, which had stood to Alistair Cragg since 2012.
Ingebrigtsen also improved the Norwegian record to 12:59 when finishing second. Running on his 26th birthday, he looked certain to have the title won with just 100m to go, before almost collapsing over the line, ending up on the flat of his back.
McElhinney’s previous road best was 13:33 from last year, the 25-year-old from Glengarriff, Co Cork setting his first Irish senior record, having already broken a series of underage marks on the track. Brian Fay finished back in 38th place, clocking 13:48. The Dublin runner still holds the Irish record for 5,000m on the track with his 13:01.40 set three years ago.
RM Block
“The national record of 13:26 was one of the main aims for me,” McElhinney said. “It was a little bit difficult, as it was windy out there. I probably had to race a little more conservatively than I would have liked.
“With the wind in the first two-and-a-half km, you were expending quite a lot of energy without having a lot to show for it on the clock, but I’m really proud of how I ran. I ran well, I was in decent company there, it is probably my best run of the summer, and happy to finish the season on a high note.”
The pace was ferocious from the gun, Flavien Szot leading it out ahead of his French team-mate Jimmy Gressier, although by the end Gressier was also out on his feet, finishing 14th in 13:17.
Earlier, in the women’s mile, Sarah Healy was the best of the Irish in 13th, clocking 4:32.98, with Laura Nicholson not far behind, running 4:36.64 to finish 21st.
“I’m very tired, it’s time for a holiday,” Healy admitted afterwards.
That title was won by Agathe Guillemot from France, who clocked a European record of 4:22.74, after finishing fourth over the 1,500m at last month’s European Championships in Birmingham, one place ahead of Healy.
In the men’s mile, Cathal Doyle was the best of the Irish when finishing 18th in 3:58.40, with European 1,500m bronze medallist Andrew Coscoran appearing some way off his best form when fading to 41st in the last 400m, clocking 4:07.95. Germany’s Robert Farken won that world title in 3:51.80.
The championships continue on Sunday with the half-marathon races, with Irish marathon record holder Peter Lynch and former record holder Hiko Tonosa leading the Irish interest. Lynch ran 59:52 for the distance in New York in March, although that time didn’t count for record purposes due to the point-to-point nature of the course.
