An unforgettable experience for Griggs

NICK Griggs will never forget the experience of representing Ireland at the World Youth Championships in Columbia over the past couple of weeks.

As part of a small athletics team, which included his training partner Callum Morgan and coach, Mark Kirk, the Newmills teenager enjoyed every moment of the time he spent in Cali.

“I loved the experience,” he beamed “To be able to go out there and experience it for two weeks, to go and see places – we went out for coffee every day – it was unbelievable.

“It was class, I couldn’t have wished for a better experience.

“It was a mental experience, I wouldn’t change any of it.”

While he couldn’t have asked for more from the event as an experience, 17-year-old Griggs was a little disappointed with his performance in the 3,000 metres final, which was run at an altitude of 1,000 metres, but the Cookstown High School head boy believes he did all he could on the day to finish ninth in a hard-run race.

“The experience was definitely better than the performance,” he observed. “It was a tough one because I know I have a lot more to progress to match those lads but I can’t be disappointed with ninth in the world.

“But at the same time I always want to strive for more, no matter what I do I always want to win. Even if I finish second I want to win, so in that sense I was a little disappointed.

“But with the altitude that I had never experienced before, I didn’t realise the effect it would have, but I felt better in the final than I did in the heat.

“I left it all out on the track in the final, so I can’t complain about that. I did all I could, it just wasn’t enough on the day.”

The final was run at break-neck speed with a blistering first lap pf just 57.72 seconds fractured the field, leaving a five strong group clear at the front, with Griggs in the chasing pack.

Ethiopia’s Melkeneh Azize – whose personal best is 7:42.95 minutes – won the title in 7:44.06. Kenyans Felix Korir (7:47.86) and Edwin Kisalsak (7:49.82), sealed silver and bronze, while Griggs finished ninth in eight minutes 4.42 seconds.

But it was that opening lap that did the damage to the Tyrone lad’s hopes of a medal.

“I wasn’t expecting that [fast start],” he acknowledged. “I looked at the clock after the first 400 metres and I saw 57 and just thought ‘why?’.

“I felt reasonably good but it was a weird way to run that race and it probably didn’t suit me.”