Raymond P. Flynn (born 22 January 1957) is a retired middle-distance runner who today works as a

sports agent A sports agent is a legal representative (hence agent (law), agent) for professional sports figures such as athletes and coaches. They procure and negotiate employment and Testimonial, endorsement contracts for the principal (commercial law), at ...

. Over the course of his racing career, Flynn ran a total of 89 sub-four minute miles. He ran his best time of 3:49.77 on 7 July 1982 in

Oslo, Norway Oslo ( or ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of towns and cities in Norway, most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a Counties of Norway, county and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a populat ...

at the

Bislett Games The Bislett Games is an annual track and field meeting at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. History The first international athletics meeting at Bislett ...

Dream Mile. This time still stands as the outdoor Irish national record, but was surpassed when

Andrew Coscoran Andrew Coscoran (born 18 June 1996) is an Irish athlete who specializes in middle distance running. In 2022, he became the Irish national record holder over the 1500 metres. Early life Coscoran is from Balbriggan and attended Saint Mary's Dioc ...

ran 3:49.26 indoors in 2025. He also held the Irish

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

record for 41 years after running 3:33.5, in the same Oslo race. In 1989, he founded Flynn Sports Management, among the biggest athlete management agencies in athletics. Flynn is also the current meet director of the

Millrose Games The Millrose Games are an annual indoor athletics (track & field) meet held each February in New York City. Among the world's most prestigious indoor track meets, the games started taking place at the Armory in Washington Heights in 2012, after ...

Running career

Collegiate

While attending

St Mel's College St Mel's College is an all-boys secondary school in Longford, Ireland. In November 2024, plans were announced to merge the school with the local all-girls secondary school, Scoil Mhuire, Longford, to form a new co-educational school to be kn ...

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, Flynn won the 1500 meters at the Great Britain Championships against other high school runners, after which he earned an athletic scholarship to

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. It was historically part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee under the Tennessee Board of Regents, but since 2016, ...

. At ETSU, he was a member of the 1975 team that won the

USA Track & Field USA Track & Field (USATF) is a United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running, and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and 1 ...

Cross Country Championship, and was an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n in both track and cross country, finishing only 0.08 seconds behind Steve Scott in the 1,500 meter final at the 1978 NCAA Track & Field Championships. He still holds the ETSU records for the 1500 meters and mile, both indoor and outdoor. On 30 April 1977, Flynn ran his first sub-4 minute mile at the

Penn Relays The Penn Relays (officially The Penn Relay Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012 ...

in a time of 3:59.4. In June of that year, he finished in last place in the men's 1500 meters finals of the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships with a time of 3:42.90.

Post-collegiate

Flynn represented Ireland in the

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

and

1984 Summer Olympic Games The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

, where he was a finalist in the

5000 meters The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

. On 6 February 1981, Flynn finished in second place at the

Wanamaker Mile The Wanamaker Mile is a prestigious indoor mile race for elite middle distance runners held annually at the Millrose Games in New York City. Alongside Oslo's Dream Mile and Eugene's Bowerman Mile, the Wanamaker Mile is among the world's premi ...

in a time of 3:53.8. He had the lead in the last lap until he was passed by

Eamonn Coghlan Eamonn Christopher Coghlan (born 21 November 1952) is an Irish former track and field athlete who specialised in middle distance track events and the 5,000 metres. He is a three-time Olympian, held the world indoor mile record and was world c ...

, who won in 3:53.0. Flynn won the British

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

title in the 5,000 metres event at the

1984 AAA Championships The 1984 AAA Championships sponsored by ( U-Bix) was the 1984 edition of the annual outdoor track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on runnin ...

. In 1985, Flynn was a member of Ireland's four-man squad along with

Marcus O'Sullivan Marcus O'Sullivan (born in Cork, Ireland on 22 December 1961) is an Irish retired middle-distance runner. He competed for Ireland at four Summer Olympics. After Steve Scott and John Walker, he is the third all-time by total of sub-4 minute ...

, and

Frank O'Mara Frank O’Mara (born 1960 in Limerick) is a former Irish runner. A three-time Olympian, he was twice World Indoor Champion in the 3000m. O’Mara has post-graduate degrees from the University of Arkansas and had a successful career in the wirele ...

, which set a world record time of 15:49.08 in the 4 x mile relay, in a charity fund-raising race in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

.
Doug Binder. The Oregonian: ''Ray Flynn: I wish them luck''. May 5, 2009. Accessed October 1, 2017.

Millrose Games

Since 2012, Flynn has served as the meeting director of the

, a prestigious indoor track and field meeting at the

Fort Washington Avenue Armory The Fort Washington Avenue Armory, also known as the Fort Washington Armory, The Armory, and the 22nd Regiment Armory, is a historic 5,000-seat arena and armory building located at 216 Fort Washington Avenue, between West 168th and 169th Stre ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Sports management career

In 1989, Flynn founded Flynn Sports Management (FSM), which grew into one of the largest agencies in track and field, representing many elite athletes.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flynn, Ray 1957 births Living people East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's track and field athletes Athletes from the Republic of Ireland Olympic athletes for Ireland Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Irish male middle-distance runners People educated at St Mel's College People from Longford (town) Athletes from County Longford 20th-century Irish sportsmen