Neil Cusack is the only Irish athlete to have won the Boston Marathon, taking victory in 1974 in a time of 2:13:39 in one of the landmark individual performances in Irish distance running history.

He competed in the men’s 10,000 metres at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, finishing 10th in his heat in 28:45.8 – a new Irish record and the first time an Irish athlete had completed an Olympic 10,000 metres.

He returned from Munich to East Tennessee State University with renewed purpose, intensifying his training to more than 100 miles per week – a formula that ultimately brought him the Boston Marathon title and, in 1983, a new European indoor record of 13:10.0 for three miles. From Limerick, Cusack won the NCAA Men’s Cross Country title in 1972 at ETSU, where he was coached by Dave Walker.

After graduating from ETSU in 1974 he found the transition difficult, later reflecting that he ‘really missed the regular routine and security of the college system’ and was ‘a bit like a ship at sea without a rudder.’

His form dipped as a result, which was reflected in his performance at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, where he was selected for the marathon having finished third in the Irish championship at Limerick in 2:17:07. The marathon at Montreal was run in continuous rain and Cusack finished 55th in 2:35:47.

He won the Dublin Marathon in 1981.