Peter Lynch has regained the Irish marathon record in sensational style with his ninth place finish in Sunday’s London Marathon, the Kilkenny runner clocking an impressive 2:06:08 to carve almost two minutes off the previous mark.
On a day for record-breaking marathon times – Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe becoming the first man to officially break two hours with his winning time of 1:59:30 – Lynch improved the previous Irish record of 2:07:54 set by Fearghal Curtin when winning the Gyeongju Marathon in South Korea last October.
The 28-year-old Lynch improved his own personal best of 2:09:36 clocked in the Düsseldorf Marathon last April, breaking the Irish record on that occasion, before he smashed through the 2:07-barrier this time.
The top European finisher on the day, Lynch has now comfortably qualified for this summer’s European Athletics Championships in Birmingham.
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Passing the halfway mark with a group of runners in 1:03:14, Lynch gradually moved his way up over the final 10km, breaking into the top 10 with just over 5km to run.
Lynch had come to London in excellent form, becoming the first Irishman in history to break 60 minutes for the half-marathon when finishing fifth in 59:52 at the New York last month.
After one year at the University of Limerick, Lynch attended the University of Tulsa, in Oklahoma, where his progress was steady but not sensational. But after finishing a postgraduate degree there in 2024, he reached out to Alistair Cragg, who broke multiple Irish records over the years. Cragg is now head coach, along with his wife Amy, at the Puma Elite Training Team, set up in 2021 and based in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Meanwhile at Botswana Golden Grand Prix meeting, Benji Richardson won the 200m in 20.25, inside the Irish record of 20.30 which has stood to Paul Hession since 2007. Richardson had his transfer of allegiance from South Africa to Ireland ratified in November, although he doesn’t become eligible to represent Ireland on the international stage until August 2027.
Athletics Ireland have yet to decide if his times will count as national marks for record purposes.
Irish marathon record progression – the last 46 years
2:12:21: Louis Kenny, Rocket City Marathon, Alabama – December 1980
2:09:56: John Treacy, Los Angeles Olympics – August 1984
2:09:49: Stephen Scullion, London Marathon – October 2020
2:09:42: Hiko Tonosa, Dublin Marathon – October 2024
2:09:36: Peter Lynch, Düsseldorf Marathon – April 2025
2:07:54: Fearghal Curtin, Gyeongju Marathon – October 2025
2:06:08: Peter Lynch, London Marathon – April 2026
