Mayo man breaks triathlon record
Aichlinn O’Reilly from Westport, finished sixth in the pro men's race in Ironman Busselton, Western Australia on Sunday last, with a finish time of 7:59:04.
A Mayo man has made history as he became the first Irish man to break the eight-hour mark for a full Ironman.
Aichlinn O’Reilly from Westport, finished sixth in the pro men's race in Ironman Busselton, Western Australia on Sunday last, with a finish time of 7:59:04.
The previous record was 8:07:37 held by Bryan McCyrstal in Challenge Roth in 2018.
“This is something that I'm incredibly proud of,” Aichlinn said. “What makes me even more proud is that this was achieved off the back of just seven weeks of full-time training. Before this seven-week training block, I was working three to four days a week window cleaning along with trying to fit in my training. Everyone else I was competing against are full-time professional athletes with sponsors to support them.
Aichlinn has put out a call on social media for businesses to sponsor him.
“I know sponsorship is a two way street and I have to be able to provide value as well,” he said.
The Westport Triathlon group praised Aichlinn’s achievement on Facebook.
“A massive result for Aichlinn O'Reilly this morning in Ironman Western Australia, sixth overall in what looks like a new Irish record - Sub 8hrs. 18 months ago Aichlinn said he thought he could go sub 8 and here we are. An incredible achievement.”
