KILKENNY man Peter Lynch says he is “over the moon” after breaking the Irish record while competing in the London Marathon over the weekend.
The Irish runner ran the race in the British capital for the first time over the weekend, where he finished in ninth place.
The 28-year-old, who is a member of the Kilkenny City Harriers athletics club, completed the course in just two hours, six minutes and eight seconds on April 26.
Peter Lynch of Team Ireland pictured just ahead of Patrick Dever and Mahamed Mahamed of Team Great Britain during the Men's 2026 TCS London Marathon on April 26, 2026 in London, England. (Pic: Warren Little/Getty Images)He was the first European finisher, and shaved three minutes off his previous best of 2:09:36, which he set in Düsseldorf in April 2025.
Lynch’s time takes nearly two minutes off the national Irish record, which was ran by Fearghal Curtin in 2:07:54 in October of last year.
His record-breaking finish came in what was an historic London Marathon, as winner Sabastian Sawe completed the course in a world record-breaking one hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds.
Sawe is the first person in history to officially record a sub-two-hour marathon in legal conditions.
Lynch pictured during the marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in 2025Speaking after his own achievement Lynch said he was “over the moon” with how the race went for him.
“It was amazing,” he added.
“This was my first time doing London, and I knew to expect the crowds to be pretty electric, but it was beyond my expectations,” he explained.
“How loud the crowd was, for the 26 miles, the atmosphere was crazy.”
Lynch said he will now rest up for a few weeks, before looking to do, "another big marathon”.
Lynch is coached by former Irish 5000m and 10,000m record holder Alistair Cragg as part of the PUMA Elite Running Team in North Carolina.
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