Clonliffe's Efrem Gidey broke John Treacy's 40-year-old 10km Irish record by three seconds in Valencia on Sunday.
Valencia is the home of fast road running, with the Spanish city boasting both the men's and women's best half-marathon efforts. Elite athletes flock to the streets to achieve personal bests, records and qualifying times.
In the 10km Valencia Ibercaja race on Sunday morning, Gidey hit a steady 13:52 five kilometre split before finishing the full distance in 27:43. Not only was this a significant chunk off his previous best of 27:57, but it shaved around three seconds off Tracy's 27:46 mark set in 1985.
Gidey is racking up records on the road having claimed the half-marathon distance accolade in Copenhagen last September, clocking 60:51. He also looks likely to break the track 10km record of 27:39.55, which belongs to Alastair Cragg. Still only 24, he will have plenty of years to target the full set.
Gidey eventually placed 20th, moving up seven places in the second half of his run. The race was won by Sweden's Andreas Algren in a new European record of 26:54.
Rory Leonard of Great Britain, coached by the same man as Gidey, broke Mo Farah's British record, running 27:28.
