Ray Flynn (athlete)
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Irish | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 22 January 1957 | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track | ||||||||||||||
Events | |||||||||||||||
| College team | East Tennessee State University | ||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | 1500 metres: 3:33.5 Mile: 3:49.77[1] 3000 meters: 7:41.60[1] 5000 meters: 13:19.52[1] | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Updated on 1 October 2017 | |||||||||||||||
Raymond P. Flynn (born 22 January 1957) is a retired middle-distance runner who works as a sports agent. During his racing career, Flynn ran 89 sub-four minute miles. He ran his best time of 3:49.77 on 7 July 1982 in Oslo, Norway at the Bislett Games Dream Mile.[2] The time still stands as the outdoor Irish national record, but was surpassed when Andrew Coscoran ran 3:49.26 indoors in 2025. Flynn also held the Irish 1500 metres record for 41 years after running 3:33.5, in the same Oslo race.
In 1989, he founded Flynn Sports Management, among the biggest athlete management agencies in athletics. Flynn is also the meet director of the Millrose Games.[3][4]
Running career
Collegiate
While attending St Mel's College in Longford, Ireland,[5] Flynn won the 1500 meters race at the Great Britain Championships against other high school runners, after which he earned an athletic scholarship to East Tennessee State University in Johnson City. At ETSU, he was a member of the 1975 team which won the USA Track & Field Cross Country Championship, and was an NCAA All-American athlete 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.[6] Flynn still holds the ETSU records for the 1500 meters and mile, both indoor and outdoor.[7]
On 30 April 1977, Flynn ran his first sub-4 minute mile at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia with a time of 3:59.4.[8] In June 1977, 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.[9]
Post-collegiate
Flynn represented Ireland in the 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympic Games, where he was a finalist in the 5000 meters. On 6 February 1981, Flynn finished in second place at the Wanamaker Mile in a time of 3:53.8.[10] He had the lead in the last lap until he was passed by Eamonn Coghlan, who won in 3:53.0.[10] Flynn won the British AAA Championships title in the 5,000 metres event at the 1984 AAA Championships.[11][12]
In 1985, Flynn was a member of Ireland's four-man squad along with Marcus O'Sullivan, Eamonn Coghlan, and Frank O'Mara. They set a world record time of 15:49.08 in the 4 x mile relay, in a charity fund-raising race in Dublin.[13]
After retirement
Ray Flynn | |
|---|---|
| Meet director of the Millrose Games | |
| Assumed office 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Mark Wetmore |
Millrose Games
Since 2012, Flynn has served as the meeting director of the Millrose Games, a prestigious indoor track and field meeting held at the Fort Washington Avenue Armory in Manhattan, New York.[4]
Sports management career
In 1989, Flynn founded Flynn Sports Management (FSM), which grew into one of the largest agencies in track and field. The agency represents a number of elite athletes.[4]
References
- ^ a b c All-Athletics. "Profile of Ray Flynn". Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- ^ "Bios - Ray Flynn on Flotrack". Archived from the original on 30 March 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
- ^ "Who is FSM? - Flynn Sports Management". Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ a b c "Meet Directors". 116th Millrose Games. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "Notable Athletes from County Longford". www.longfordac.com. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
- ^ [1] MileSplit Oregon: NCAA Division 1 Track Championships - June 2–3, 1978. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
- ^ [2] ETSU Bucs: Hall of Fame: Ray Flynn
- ^ "The Irish Times: A few went the extra mile". The Irish Times. 24 April 2004. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- ^ [3] The New York Times: N.C.A.A. Title Track Summaries. June 5, 1977. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
- ^ a b Neil Amdur (7 February 1981). "The New York Times: PAIGE, NYAMBUI SET MARKS; COGHLAN TAKES MILE IN 3:53". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- ^ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "AAA Championships (men)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ [4] Doug Binder. The Oregonian: Ray Flynn: I wish them luck. May 5, 2009. Accessed October 1, 2017.