With all the excitement and noise of the World Relays on Sunday, and Ireland’s women sealing qualification for Beijing, one standout Irish performance slipped by quietly.
World Athletics Relays had most of the attention, but over in Japan, Brian Fay was going about his business in serious style.
Racing at the Golden Games in Nobeoka, Fay delivered a performance that saw him sit in, stay patient, and then started firing in the last two laps.
From there, it was decisive. He surged clear in the last and closed it out for victory in 13:13.30, his fastest time over the distance in exactly a year.
That previous mark came at the Shanghai Diamond League, making this a neat bit of symmetry in his season.
Watch the full race below:
