History made and records broken as Kilkenny athletes deliver at home and abroad

Records tumbled and history was made by three Kilkenny athletes at home and abroad over the weekend.

Peter Lynch's athletic achievements show no sign of slowing down!

The Kilkenny City Harriers athlete made history when he became the first Irishman to break 60 minutes for the half-marathon when he ran 59:52 to finish fifth at the New York City Half Marathon on Sunday morning.

The run saw Lynch shave more than a minute off the 1:01:15 he ran for the half in Houston in 2025.

Making history is nothing new to Lynch, who set an Irish marathon record of 2:09:36 in Dusseldorf last year. He also set a new Irish national 10 mile road record at the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run in Washington DC when he ran 45:59 to beat John Tracey's 46:25 which was set in 1993.

Clocking sub-60 for the half will provide great momentum for Lynch, who runs with the Puma Elite Running Team under coach Alistair Cragg. His next challenge will be to try and reclaim his national marathon record - Cork's Fearghal Curtin ran 2:07:54 in South Korea last October - when he runs in the London Marathon in April.

Championship records

Closer to home, Kilkenny athletes shone in Athlone as outstanding performances and championship records were among the highlights at the 123.ie under-20 and under-23 Indoor Championships in the TUS International Arena.

Molly Daly of Kilkenny City Harriers A.C., Kilkenny, crosses the finish line to win the u20 400m final during the 123.ie National Indoor U20 & U23 Championships at TUS in Athlone, Westmeath. PICTURE: Tyler Miller/Sportsfile

One of the standout performances of the championships came in the under-20 women’s 400m where Molly Daly (Kilkenny City Harriers AC) stormed to gold in 53.74, setting a new championship record in just her third ever 400m race.

Daly’s run bettered the qualification standard for the World under-20 championships and places her second on the Irish all-time under-20 indoor list behind Rhasidat Adeleke. Erin Friel (Letterkenny AC) finished second in 54.20, also achieving the World under-20 standard, while Sofia Ranjo (St Laurence O’Toole AC) took bronze in 55.35.

In the endurance events the under-20 women’s 1,500m was billed as one of the races of the day. It delivered in style as Pia Langton (Kilkenny City Harriers AC) won a thrilling contest in a championship record time of 4:21.77. Freya Renton (Westport AC) was close behind in 4:22.08 while Jennifer O’Leary (Nenagh Olympic AC) finished third in 4:29.47.

Langton’s performance secured the world under-20 qualifying standard while Renton achieved the standard for the European under-18 championships.