FORM is temporary, class is permanent – Darragh McElhinney reminded us all of his talent as he powered to a stunning new 5000m personal best.
The Glengarriff athlete’s previous PB of 13:17.17 had stood for over three years since May 2022, but he went even faster last weekend at the FAST5000 meet held in Maisons-Laffitte, just outside Paris.
McElhinney (24) clocked a time of 13:16.26 to improve his own personal best and also move to eighth on the Irish all-time list, leapfrogging the legendary John Treacy in the process – the latter ran 13:16.81 in June 1984 before winning an Olympic silver medal in the marathon.
The good news keeps on coming for the West Cork man as McElhinney, who finished second in the race, has now achieved the B qualifying standard for the World Athletics Championship in Tokyo in September.
The signs had been encouraging in recent weeks after McElhinney clocked 13:26.48 last month, which had been his fastest 5000m time in three years, up until last weekend’s new personal best.
