On Sunday morning, Kevin Seaward ran the fastest marathon by an Irishman in 17 years.
The 35-year-old from Belfast finished the Berlin Marathon in 2:13.39. The time moves him to joint tenth on the all-time Irish list.
It is the fastest over the distance since Mark Caroll ran 2:10.54 - the second quickest ever by an Irishman behind John Treacy's national record - at the New York Marathon in November 2002.
Seaward has competed for Ireland in the marathon at the European Championships and also the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
His new personal best is outside the qualifying standard of 2:11:30 for next year's Games in Tokyo. Athletes can also qualify for the Olympics via their world ranking position.
Sunday's event in Berlin was won by Kenenisa Bekele with second fastest time ever for a marathon. The Kenyan finished just two seconds outside Eliud Kipchohe's world record of 2:01.39.
Wow! What a morning @berlinmarathon . Over the moon to run a PB and sub 2.14. Almost as pleased @AndrewJamesHobd and @heather_timmins didn’t fall off the scooters 🛴 Thank you for all the well wishes, I will reply...after a coffee #berlinmarathon2019 https://t.co/y2PvzpUSnc
— Kevin Seaward OLY (@Kevrunning) September 29, 2019
At the World Championships, which are currently taking place in Doha, Stephen Scullion will run for Ireland in the marathon.
The race takes place at midnight on Saturday (10pm Irish time) in hope of mitigating the searing heat and incredible humidity.
On Monday morning, Scullion congratulated fellow Belfast man Seaward on his time.
Great for @irishathletics and @AthleticsNI to see @Kevrunning running 2.13 in Berlin, it raises the bar again and to challenge on the European marathon scene we need to keep the progression going. Kevin works full time and still manages to push the standards higher. 💪🏼
— Stephen Scullion OLY (@scullion262) September 30, 2019
Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
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