Mayo athlete who finished Ironman in under eight hours claims Irish record

Aichlinn O’Reilly (28), from Westport, completed the gruelling 226km Busselton Ironman in Western Australia on Sunday, just seven weeks after moving to the country with his girlfriend, Maeve.

Mr O’Reilly beat the record by less than a minute, reaching the finish line with 7.59.04 total hours registered on the clock.

The previous Irish record was 8.07.37, by athlete Bryan McCrystal in Challenge Roth in 2018.

“About 30km into the running part, I thought I wasn’t going to make the record,” Mr O’Reilly said.

“I was really struggling mentally. Then I saw Maeve and our friends Jack and Anna on the side, roaring me on.

“I decided to give it everything. I thought, ‘It hurts now, but it’s going to hurt a lot more if I come in 30 seconds over the eight-hour mark,’ which is such a high benchmark in the triathlon world”

It was not until the last 200 metres, when he spotted the time board and the finish line, that he realised he would break the record.

Mr O’Reilly swam 3.9km in 47 minutes and 46 seconds; cycled 180km in four hours, 11 minutes and 31 seconds; and ran a marathon of 42km in two hours, 54 minutes and 13 seconds.

“I have gotten so many nice messages since finishing,” he said.

“My parents stayed up all night back home to watch it, tracking me all the way. My mum was really nervous the whole time.”

The athlete, who initially had dreams of a becoming a professional swimmer, signed up, with a friend, to his first competitive triathlon aged 16.

Earning podium finishes as a teenager against adults in his first few races, Mr O’Reilly began to relish in the competitive nature of the sport and fell in love with it.

After years of training and competing, while squeezing in a degree in sports and exercise science at the University of Limerick, he set his sights on the Ironman challenge in Western Australia.

Despite suffering an injury that sidelined him during the winter Irish training season, he got back into his training regime once he arrived in Perth, having wanted to move to Australia with his partner for some time.

“The biggest difference in training between here and Ireland is the weather,” Mr O’Reilly said.

“You can head out for a six-hour bike ride with no jacket, in 30-degree heat and not worry about rain or wind.” He saved for the last two years, working for his father’s window-cleaning business back home and spent €3,000 on equipment and gear alone, in the lead-up to last weekend’s race.

“This was the longest and most committed I’ve ever been to a race since starting,” he said.

“Not working the last few weeks really helped that. I pushed so hard.”

Mr O’Reilly is due to begin working with a window-cleaning business in Perth. However, said he will postpone starting work for a few days to allow his recovery

While delighted with his record-breaking achievement, he insisted that this was “only the beginning”.

He hopes to take part in a newly established Ironman pro-race series, which comprises 17 races, either full or half Ironman challenges, taking place all across the world.

An athlete’s best five finishes will count in the end.

Funding is an issue for the 6ft 3in Mayo man, with Ironman charging €1,300 for a yearly pro membership. However, he is hoping his record-breaking achievement will help him get sponsored to he can continue competing.

“I came out here to make a statement and feel I have now proved it and shown what I can do,” he said.