Article on Ray Flynn Irish mile record

ThebitterLemon

http://m.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/athletics/i-wasnt-afraid-i-would-die-i-knew-i-was-dying-flynn-35883538.html

Great athlete from the golden age of Irish track running and I can't see that record falling anytime soon

TbL

Pherekydes

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

http://m.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/athletics/i-wasnt-afraid-i-would-die-i-knew-i-was-dying-flynn-35883538.html

Great athlete from the golden age of Irish track running and I can't see that record falling anytime soon

TbL

If Pierce O'Callaghan's proposal to eliminate all pre-2005 records goes ahead it'll be gone, just like that.

El Caballo

Needs some running action;), here's the race in question.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSH_xrgUaY0

Flynn is an absolute legend of Irish athletics although he probably flies a little under the radar compared to the other big hitters of Irish athletics at that time. 89 sub-4 miles in his career along those Irish records and the still-standing 4x1 mile WR. Amazing to think that there was so many Irish athletes producing performances around 3.50 at that time.

walshb

What a runner.

The article stating what I have always believed. It's the ultimate all over body test.

"The mile, of all events, is perhaps the most thorough examination of an athlete. To master it requires a sprinter's acceleration, a distance runner's endurance, a chess player's strategic nous and an extraordinary tolerance to suffer and tolerate pain."

Pherekydes

walshb wrote: »

What a runner.

The article stating what I have always believed. It's the ultimate all over body test.

That would be the Decathlon.

mikeybrennan

Pherekydes wrote: »

That would be the Decathlon.

lol

walshb

For Ireland to produce a sub 3.49 runner would require not just a sh1t load of effort and training, but the right makeup, the right athlete.

I am sure the likes of Robinson and Travers and Coghlan are training every bit as hard as Ray was, and with even greater knowledge and expertise and resources available to them. They just aren't as good/fast over 4 laps. Missing something innate/natural.

Chivito550

walshb wrote: »

For Ireland to produce a sub 3.49 runner would require not just a sh1t load of effort and training, but the right makeup, the right athlete.

I am sure the likes of Robinson and Travers and Coghlan are training every bit as hard as Ray was, and with even greater knowledge and expertise and resources available to them. They just aren't as good/fast over 4 laps. Missing something innate/natural.

Ehhhhh Coghlan ran 3:49 indoors!

In fact his indoor time (ran on tighter bends to the standardised indoor tracks of today) is a far more impressive mark than Flynn's outdoor time. It is just 0.01 of a second slower, and is still the European record, and second fastest time in history.

EDIT: Just realised you might have been talking about his son perhaps.

walshb

Chivito550 wrote: »

Ehhhhh Coghlan ran 3:49 indoors!

In fact his indoor time (ran on tighter bends to the standardised indoor tracks of today) is a far more impressive mark than Flynn's outdoor time. It is just 0.01 of a second slower, and is still the European record, and second fastest time in history.

Yes, his son!

Chivito550

Flynn was a splendid athlete. However he never really did it at Championships, with the exception of a European Indoor silver. Hard to really put him amongst the likes of Delany, Coghlan and Marcus O'Sullivan in terms of our greatest milers IMO. Championships will always trump records really.

walshb

Chivito550 wrote: »

Flynn was a splendid athlete. However he never really did it at Championships, with the exception of a European Indoor silver. Hard to really put him amongst the likes of Delany, Coghlan and Marcus O'Sullivan in terms of our greatest milers IMO. Championships will always trump records really.

True, but there is still something sweet about being able to say "I covered the distance faster than any of you."

I have always been of the view that a WR trumps any championship or race win. Not that Flynn ever had one....

It truly shows that at a particular point in time you were the best in history and that no human had ever bettered your mark.

For Ray he can always say that to date no Irish person has ever run an outdoor mile faster. Kind of unique.

Chivito550

walshb wrote: »

True, but there is still something sweet about being able to say "I covered the distance faster than any of you."

I have always been of the view that a WR trumps any championship or race win. Not that Flynn ever had one....

It truly shows that at a particular point in time you were the best in history and that no human had ever bettered your mark.

For Ray he can always say that to date no Irish person has ever run an outdoor mile faster. Kind of unique.

True, but to run a fast time you need all the cards to fall right, particularly in things like 100m and 200m. Is 9.79 with a +2.0 better than 9.84 with a -1.2? Not at all.

Weather conditions, pacemaking by pacemakers, quality of the opposition are all factors that go into producing a great time.

Sonia may have broken the mile WR in Oslo 1994 if the first pacemaker didn't make a complete bollox of it. Race in this video somewhere.

https://youtu.be/7lmygyLaAVE

walshb

Chivito550 wrote: »

True, but to run a fast time you need all the cards to fall right, particularly in things like 100m and 200m. Is 9.79 with a +2.0 better than 9.84 with a -1.2? Not at all.
.

Really, who cares? If it's legal, accepted and in the books I don't think anyone who is not a complete geek would be checking stuff you mentioned.

walshb

I think it was Travers who said he'd prefer a WR over Olympic gold!

Chivito550

walshb wrote: »

Really, who cares? If it's legal, accepted and in the books I don't think anyone who is not a complete geek would be checking stuff you mentioned.

Well it does matter. The difference between +2.0 and -2.0 is about 0.3 to 0.35 in the 100m. The direction of the wind makes an enormous difference.

Chivito550

walshb wrote: »

I think it was Travers who said he'd prefer a WR over Olympic gold!

He'll never be remotely close to either so it's pure pie in the sky stuff. The majority would choose the gold though I suspect, as records don't last forever.

walshb

Chivito550 wrote: »

Well it does matter. The difference between +2.0 and -2.0 is about 0.3 to 0.35 in the 100m. The direction of the wind makes an enormous difference.

Of course it matters in terms of the time achieved. There's 4 metres speed difference there.

That was not my point. It doesn't matter to pretty much everyone once the record is legal and accepted as legal. Nobody goes breaking down the wind speeds, apart from statisticians and geeks...

Speaking of the mile wind is not a factor that is considered for verifying-accepting a time.

walshb

Chivito550 wrote: »

He'll never be remotely close to either so it's pure pie in the sky stuff. The majority would choose the gold though I suspect, as records don't last forever.

Yes, majority I believe would pick the gold medal.

MonkieSocks

El Caballo wrote: »

the still-standing 4x1 mile WR. .

Great day that was

Eamon Coughlin, Ray Flyn, Frank O' Mara and Marcus O' Sullivan were the 4 men on Ireland "A" Team that took that record.

John Tracy was on the Ireland "B" Team and ran just under 4mins for the mile that day.