PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Ray Flynn of Ireland outkicked countryman Marcus O'Sullivan to win the Fiesta Bowl Mile by one-quarter of a second Wednesday and finish in a time of 4:02.61.
Flynn broke away from a pack of six runners with one-quarter mile to go along the Central Avenue course to hold off O'Sullivan by less than a body length. John Walker of New Zealand finished third in the seven-runner field.
'Nobody came with me,' Flynn said. 'It was like a gamble - nobody knew (when to kick). I decided to take my chances running.
'I don't think my ultimate tool is my finishing kick. I got the lead with a quarter-mile to go and nobody passed me. I never looked back - just ran for my life.'
O'Sullivan, undefeated in the mile through the 1986 indoor season, nearly caught Flynn. He said a lingering virus sapped his strength at the end.
'About halfway I started drifting back, and I didn't know if I could keep up,' said O'Sullivan, who finished second to Steve Scott in last year's inaugural race. 'But then I went by Steve Ovett, Steve Scott and finally past John Walker. I thought I had a good chance to catch Ray. But in the last 20 yards, my legs gave way.'
The winning time was more than five seconds slower than Scott's winning time of 3:57.36 last year. Scott finished sixth this year.
The runners raced six abreast early on.
'Everybody spread out,' Flynn said. 'I was like the others - asking where everybody else was. When I want with a quarter-mile to go, I didn't know if it would hold up.'
O'Sullivan said the tactic made it a 'more real race.'
'It made for the feeling that everyone was trying for a respectable time,' he said. 'Nobody got wind off anybody else.'
The race was held along the same route as the Fiesta Bowl Parade, which began shortly thereafter. A crowd estimated at 250,000 watched the race under cloudy skies with a slight breeze.
