Andrew Coscoran became the fastest Irishman ever over 1500m following a tremendous run at the World Indoor Tour final in Birmingham on Saturday.
The Star Of The Sea AC athlete finished in third, running 3:33.49, as he crossed the line behind winner Neil Gourley of Great Britain and second-placed Adal Mechaal of Spain.
The time took nearly two seconds off the 3:35.40 Irish indoor record set by Marcus O'Sullivan in 1988. It is also quicker than Ray Flynn's outdoor mark of 3.33.50 set in Oslo in 1982, and now stands as the overall Irish record.
"Huge congratulations to Andrew on his marvellous race today and fastest ever Irishman over 1500m!" Flynn said on Twitter.
Andrew Coscoran breaks Irish 1500m record
WHAT A RUN! @AndrewCoscoran smashes the 1500m national record in Birmingham with 3.33.49 to finish third. @lukemccann98 behind him in fourth clocks 3.34.76 to go second on the all-time list. @nickgriggs4321 breaks his national U20 record also - 3.39.40@irishathletics pic.twitter.com/LgtTf2nlHS
— Rory Cassidy (@rorycassidy01) February 25, 2023
Coscoran sat in fourth for the majority of the race before the eventual top three moved ahead of Great Britain's Josh Kerr on the back straight of the final lap.
Gourley's run of 3:32.48 broke the British indoor 1500m record, while Mechaal's 3:33.28 broke the Spanish record.
Coscoran's Irish teammate Luke McCann of UCD AC finished fourth in 3:34.76, which was also inside the previous Irish indoor record. Teenage star Nick Griggs finished in seventh, running 3:39.94, a time quicker than the Irish U20 outdoor record (3.40.56) which Cian McPhillips set in 2021.
Balbriggan native Coscoran reaching a new peak in his 1500m career comes just in time for the European Indoor Championships which are being held in Istanbul between March 2nd - 5th. The 26-year-old is part of a 16-strong Irish team which will travel to the championships.
You can watch the full race from Birmingham on the World Athletics YouTube channel.
The 🇮🇪 1500m record set by @RayPFlynn in 1982 has finally fallen… an outstanding run by @AndrewCoscoran to break it indoors with more laps, tighter bends at the #WorldIndoorTour Final in Birmingham - subject to ratification etc… oldest 🇮🇪track record in the books pic.twitter.com/wAEjjEiSl3
— Pierce O'Callaghan (@Pierceathletics) February 25, 2023
See Also: Phil Healy Explains Decision To Withdraw From Euro Indoors 400m
