AUSTIN, Texas (Dec. 1, 2015) – The 2015 FloTrack Beer Mile World Championships saw multiple world records broken in both men’s and women’s elite races.
Erin O’Mara from Fenton, Mich., broke previous World Champion Beth Herndon’s record by more than eight seconds, finishing in a blistering 6:08.51. Running in her first FloTrack Beer Mile World Championships, O’Mara was a late entry after setting a personal best at the Michigan Beer Mile two weeks ago.
“After I set my personal best in Michigan, I knew I had to come and test my skills against the world’s best in Austin,” O’Mara said. “The competition at this event is unlike anything I have ever experienced, and it helped push me to the new world record.”
Competing in front of approximately 2,000 spectators and many more fans who watched online at FloTrack.com, Canada’s Lewis Kent and 2014 FloTrack Beer Mile World Champion Corey Gallagher took to the track for their much-anticipated showdown. Kent set the world record less than two weeks ago and had his sights set on breaking his time of 4:51.90.
Kent set a new record of 4:47:17.
“I knew I was in good enough shape to break my record from a couple weeks ago,” Kent said. “I wanted to capitalize on the adrenaline from the crowd to help push me further.”
Kent led for the entire race but was followed closely by Gallagher, who made a strong kick at the end to finish in second place with a time of 4:48.51.
“This was by far the best field of competitors I have run against,” Kent said. “It was going to come down to Corey and me, but I was able to chug my third and fourth beers a little faster this time around.”
With former and current Beer Mile world record holders competing, FloTrack brought together the best in the world to Austin for four laps with the sport’s largest purse at stake. Once considered an underground, end-of-season rite of passage for many track athletes, the Beer Mile has transformed into a competitive race gaining worldwide popularity.
“This was a historic race,” FloSports co-founder and COO Mark Floreani said. “Our goal is to showcase the world’s most elite Beer Milers competing against one another on the same track. We couldn’t have asked for a more exciting finish in both elite races.”
Divisions at the 2015 FloTrack Beer Mile World Championships included two open heats, a sub-elite heat where runners submitted their times to qualify to participate, and the elite heats for both men and women to crown the 2015 World Champions.
theCHIVE’s KCCO line of beers was the “Official Beer” of the event, and was served to event competitors and attendees.
For more information, visit Flotrack.org/BeerMileWorlds.
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