Ben Reynolds stars at opening of new Mary Peters track

Holywood hurdler Ben Reynolds set a new Northern Ireland record in the 110m hurdles at the Mary Peters Track International Opening Event in Belfast.

The 22-year-old clocked a World B standard time of 13.49 seconds, shaving 0.22 seconds off his personal best in what was the performance of the meet.

Reynolds looks set for a place in the Irish team for the World Athletics Championships in Moscow in August.

Amy Foster equalled her NI record of 11.49 seconds in the 100m.

Foster shares the record with Anna Boyle and had already equalled the benchmark in a previous run.

The late withdrawal of former Olympic gold medalist Mark Lewis-Francis saw Paralympics gold medallist Jason Smyth win the men's 100m in 10.50 seconds, ahead of Ni champion Ollie Back.

Ben Reynolds smashes NI 100m hurdles record

Reynolds obliterated his own record of 13.71, which he had set two days earlier at the European Team Championships in Dublin.

A statue of Dame Mary Peters was unveiled to launch the new £3m venue.

Lord Coe, chairman of BOA, and Belfast Lord Mayor Mairtin O Muilleoir were present to perform the official unveiling.

"It is just lovely and I hope that youngsters who come here to compete will look up and think, 'if she could do it, then so could I," said Mary.

Lord Coe stated that "no person in British sport more exemplifies the proper understanding of what legacy is about than Mary".

"She performed unbelievably, won the biggest prize in sport in 1972, and was then thinking of how to best capture that moment to inspire generations to come, not just in Northern Ireland, but across the globe," added Lord Coe.

Australian middle distance runner Collis Birmingham won the 1,500m ahead of Paul Robinson and John Coghlan, a son of former world champion, Eamonn Coghlan.

Reynolds' sensational performance was the second fastest time ever clocked by an Irish 110m hurdler, behind the 13.30 set by Peter Coghlan in 1999.