There are numerous stuff you begin doing whenever you flip 16—possibly studying to drive, or attempting to disassociate your self out of your dad and mom. One factor you most likely weren’t doing was operating a 13-minute 5K. On Thursday evening in Northern Eire, Swedish teenager Sebastian Lörstad completed third within the Armagh 5K highway race, setting a brand new age group world report of 13:36.
The 16-year-old took cost from the gun, setting the tempo and main the race deep into the ultimate kilometre. However within the closing stretch, pre-race favorite Andrew Colley of the U.S. (who, at 33, is twice Lörstad’s age) unleashed a surge to win in a brand new course report of 13:33. Britain’s Jack Kavanagh adopted two seconds behind in 13:35, whereas Lörstad, regardless of being outsprinted, made historical past by breaking Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s age-group report, setting a brand new 16-year-old finest by mere seconds. He additionally missed the Swedish senior 5K report by solely 4 seconds.
Colley, Kavanagh and Lörstad had been three of 154 runners who shattered the 15-minute barrier on Thursday on the Armagh Worldwide Street Race, with 22 of them breaking 14 minutes. Dubbed one of many quickest 5K races on the planet, it has garnered a popularity for its aggressive area and quick, five-lap course round a communal park (The Mall) in the course of city. An enormous crowd lined the park to cheer on runners within the males’s 5K and girls’s 3K races.
Each February, runners from all around the world flock to Armagh, drawn by the attract of an opportunity to check their limits on one of many world’s quickest programs. This yr, the race hosted runners from Sweden, Finland, the usA., Germany and the Netherlands. To qualify for the race, males should run a time of 16 minutes or beneath for 5K. The last-place finisher (219th place) on this yr’s males’s area completed in 16:23—nonetheless a powerful time.
This yr set a brand new report for the race, with 22 extra people breaking the 15-minute mark in comparison with final yr’s report of 132 males.
Improbable @ArmaghS @Armagh5k tonight. Ladies’s 3k gained in 9:04 by Verity Ockenden, Swansea. Males’s race gained in new course report 13:31 by Andrew Colley USA. Story of evening 13:36 by 16 yr Sebastian Larstad of Sweden (Unofficial age WR). Delighted to be on livestream. @EDAC_Youtube. pic.twitter.com/g3n1iVECuq
— Fintan Reilly (@fintanreilly) February 13, 2025
You may view the complete outcomes from the 2024 Armagh 5K, right here.