Ray Flynn (athlete)

Raymond P. Flynn (born 22 January 1957) is a retired middle-distance runner who works as a sports agent. Over the course of his racing career, Flynn ran a total of 89 sub-four minute miles, with his best time (and current Irish mile record) of 3:49.77 on 7 July 1982 in Oslo at the Bislett Games Dream Mile.[2] He also holds the current Irish 1500 meter record of 3:33.5, set in the same Oslo race.

This article is about the Irish middle distance runner. For the American politician, see Raymond Flynn.
Ray Flynn
Personal information
NationalityIrish
Born (1957-01-22) 22 January 1957
Longford, Ireland
Sport
SportTrack
Event(s)1500 meters, mile
College teamEast Tennessee State University
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)Mile: 3:49.77[1]
3000 meters: 7:41.60[1]
5000 meters: 13:19.52[1]
Updated on 1 October 2017.

Running career

Collegiate

A native of Longford, Ireland, Flynn won the 1500 meters at the Great Britain Championships against other high school runners, after which he earned an athletic scholarship to East Tennessee State University. At ETSU, he was a member of the 1975 team that won the USA Track & Field Cross Country Championship, and was an NCAA All-American in both track and cross country, finishing only 0.08 seconds behind Steve Scott in the 1,500 meter final at the 1978 NCAA Track & Field Championships.[3] He still holds the ETSU records for the 1500 meters and mile, both indoor and outdoor.[4]

On 30 April 1977 Flynn ran his first sub-4 minute mile at the Penn Relays in a time of 3:59.4.[5] In June that year he finished in last place in the men's 1500 meters finals of the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships with a time of 3:42.90.[6]

Post-collegiate

On 6 February 1981 Flynn finished in second place at the Wanamaker Mile in a time of 3:53.8.[7] He had the lead in the last lap until he was passed by Eamonn Coghlan, who won in 3:53.0.[7] In 1985, Flynn was a member of Ireland's four-man squad along with Marcus O'Sullivan, Eamonn Coghlan, and Frank O'Mara, which set a world record time of 15:49.08 in the 4 x mile relay, in a charity fund-raising race in Dublin.[8] Flynn represented Ireland in the 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympic Games, where he was a finalist in the 5000 meters.

Later life

Flynn resides with his wife and children in Northeast Tennessee, where he is the President/CEO of Flynn Sports Management, an athletics management company.[9] Flynn is the current meet director for the Millrose Games in New York City, the oldest indoor meet in North America.

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References
  1. All-Athletics. "Profile of Ray Flynn".
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-03-30. Retrieved 2009-05-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. MileSplit Oregon: NCAA Division 1 Track Championships - June 2–3, 1978. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  4. ETSU Bucs: Hall of Fame: Ray Flynn
  5. "The Irish Times: A few went the extra mile". April 24, 2004. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  6. The New York Times: N.C.A.A. Title Track Summaries. June 5, 1977. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  7. Neil Amdur (February 7, 1981). "The New York Times: PAIGE, NYAMBUI SET MARKS; COGHLAN TAKES MILE IN 3:53". Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  8. Doug Binder. The Oregonian: Ray Flynn: I wish them luck. May 5, 2009. Accessed October 1, 2017.
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