Raymond P. Flynn (born 22 January 1957) is a retired middle-distance runner who works as a sports agent. Over the course of his racing career, Flynn ran a total of 89 sub-four minute miles, with his best time (and current Irish mile record) of 3:49.77 on 7 July 1982 in

Oslo, Norway Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of i ...

at the

Bislett Games The Bislett Games is an annual track and field meeting at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. History The first international athletics meeting at Bislet ...

Dream Mile. He also holds the current Irish 1500 meter record of 3:33.5, set in the same Oslo race.

Running career

Collegiate

While attending St Mel's College in

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, Flynn won the 1500 meters at the Great Britain Championships against other high school runners, after which he earned an athletic scholarship to

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. Although it is part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee, the university is governed by an institutional Board of Tr ...

. At ETSU, he was a member of the 1975 team that won the

USA Track & Field USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

Cross Country Championship, and was an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n in both track and cross country, finishing only 0.08 seconds behind Steve Scott in the 1,500 meter final at the 1978 NCAA Track & Field Championships. He still holds the ETSU records for the 1500 meters and mile, both indoor and outdoor. On 30 April 1977, Flynn ran his first sub-4 minute mile at the

Penn Relays The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were ...

in a time of 3:59.4. In June of that year, he finished in last place in the men's 1500 meters finals of the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships with a time of 3:42.90.

Post-collegiate

On 6 February 1981, Flynn finished in second place at the

Wanamaker Mile The Wanamaker Mile is an indoor mile run, mile race held annually at the Millrose Games in New York City. It was named in honour of department store owner Rodman Wanamaker. The event was first held in 1926 inside Madison Square Garden, which was the ...

in a time of 3:53.8. He had the lead in the last lap until he was passed by

Eamonn Coghlan Eamonn Christopher Coghlan (born 21 November 1952) is an Irish former track and field athlete who specialised in middle distance track events and the 5,000 metres. He is a three-time Olympian and former world champion in the 5,000 m. He se ...

, who won in 3:53.0. In 1985, Flynn was a member of Ireland's four-man squad along with

Marcus O'Sullivan Marcus O'Sullivan (born in Cork, Ireland on 22 December 1961) is an Irish retired middle-distance runner. He competed for Ireland at four Summer Olympics. After Steve Scott and John Walker, he is the third all-time by total of sub-4 minute ...

, and

Frank O'Mara Frank O’Mara (born 1960 in Limerick) is a former Irish runner. A three-time Olympian, he was twice World Indoor Champion in the 3000m. O’Mara has post-graduate degrees from the University of Arkansas and had a successful career in the wirele ...

, which set a world record time of 15:49.08 in the 4 x mile relay, in a charity fund-raising race in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

.
Doug Binder. The Oregonian: ''Ray Flynn: I wish them luck''. May 5, 2009. Accessed October 1, 2017. Flynn represented Ireland in the 1980 Summer Olympics, 1980 and

1984 Summer Olympic Games The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

, where he was a finalist in the

5000 meters The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stand ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flynn, Ray 1957 births Living people East Tennessee State University alumni Athletes from the Republic of Ireland Olympic athletes of Ireland Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Irish male middle-distance runners People educated at St Mel's College