Fay runs race of his life to break Irish 5000m record in Belgium

Dubliner etched his name in Irish record books ahead of likes of Alistair Cragg, Eamonn Coghlan and Frank O’Mara as he qualified for next month’s World Championships and next year’s Olympics in Paris

PARIS-BOUND: Dubliner Brian Fay is the new Irish record holder over 5000m. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

It was, as Brian Fay put it, “the race of my f**king life.” At the KBC Nacht meeting in Heusden, Belgium on Saturday evening, the 24-year-old Dubliner became the fastest Irishman of all time over 5000m, breaking Alistair Cragg’s national record by two seconds, clocking 13:01.40.

The race was won by Kenya’s Cornelius Kemboi in 13:00.68, with Fay in second going well under the 13:03.53 mark set by Cragg in Brussels 12 years ago. It makes the Raheny Shamrock athlete the third fastest in Europe this year and puts him 21st in the world.