In August 1985, a piece of history was made by four Irish runners at the old Belfield track up at UCD as Eamonn Coghlan, Marcus O'Sullivan, Frank O'Mara and Ray Flynn (with John Treacy in the 'B' team pushing Coghlan out on the opening leg) set the world outdoor record for the 4 x 1 mile relay in a time of 15:49:08, a record which still stands.
Will St Patrick's Day, 2017 see four new Irish names added to the record books? Eoin Everard, John Travers, Sean Tobin and Paul Robinson will be attempting to set a new indoor world record for the 4 x 1 mile relay when they take to the track at the AIT Arena in Athlone between 4-5pm. The existing record is 16:12:81, set on 17th February 2017 by a team from the HOKA New Jersey-New York Track Club at the Millrose Games in February.
The event will be preceded by a pyrotechnic show and promises to be full of tension, drama and excitement. Travers is the Irish 1500m champion and so comes into the race in fine fettle alongside Tobin (who is fresh off a NCAA Distance Medley Relay victory a week ago) and Everard, the national 3000m champion - while Robinson will be running off the back of rotten luck with injuries but a second place behind Travers in the Irish 1500m.
As the Facebook event page points out, the average best mile time between the four is 3:57:30, so there is a real chance of history being made. On a packed weekend of sport this Paddy's weekend, get yourself along and cheer on the four Irishmen trying to secure an incredible double record over the 4 x 1 mile relay.
