New records at the double for Griggs

On Saturday, the 17-year-old cut 6.67 seconds off Niall Murphy’s 32-year-old mark in the under-20 3,000 metres, finishing in a time of 7:57.38 minutes to come home almost 17 seconds clear of runner-up Mitchell Byrne at the AAI Games.

His time was over 10 seconds faster than his outdoor personal best, which he set in France just two weeks after his incredible 3,000m triumph at the European Under-20 Championships in Estonia, which came just six weeks after the tragic death of his beloved brother Josh.

Then, on Wednesday evening, he returned to Abbotstown where he again produced an eye-catching performance by leaving the pacesetter in his wake in the senior 1500m race before simply running away from the field to record a new Irish U20 record time of 3:43.72 minutes, smashing smashing the previous mark of 3:44.85 in the process. Griggs was just off Ray Flynn’s outdoor U20 record of 3:42.66.

“It’s kind of surreal,” he admitted after Saturday’s race. “Sometimes when I look back on it, if you’d told me this time last year everything that would have happened in life, not just in running, I’d have been like ‘what are you talking about? It’s just not going to happen’.

“It’s mad, it’s insane to think about but I’m just looking to push forward now. You can’t dwell on the past or achievements I have achieved. It’s always about pushing forward, to improve and to get better.”

Achieving his goals on the track is something that Griggs has been doing regularly since last summer and it’s something he is keen to continue doing.

And on Sunday, he went in with two official targets and one or two of his own that he is keen to achieve as soon as he possibly can.

“The target really was to break the Irish junior record which was 8:04 [minutes]. It’s a long standing record and that was the main goal but I knew in my head that and sub-8 were achievable,” he explained.

“I managed to do both but there were a few other wee goals in the back of my head. I think the Northern Ireland senior record is 7:53 so that was in the back of my head, but only on a perfect day when everything goes great I can get that. I think that is the main goal if I have another 3K race indoors.”

Griggs was back in action again yesterday in Dublin where he excelled in the 1500 metres, breaking another Irish under-20 record, but his next major event will be the Irish Senior Indoor Championships at the end of February when he will try to produce his best in a pressure free environment.

“I’m not sure what I’m going to be run there – the 1500 or the 3000 – but I look at it as an opportunity because I’m still young and there’s no pressure,” he added.

“If I go into an Irish Senior Championship race, and come dead last, I still have another 10 or 15 years in those championships. There’s no pressure for me to perform now.

“Obviously I want to perform and do the best I can but if I don’t, it’s not the end of the world. It’s part of a learning curve, it’s about getting experience against lads you look up to, lads who are better than you.”

Once the indoor season ends, Nick will turn his and coach Mark Kirk’s focus to the outdoor track and getting ready for the Junior World Championships in Columbia, which is a trip and an experience he is particularly looking forward to.

“Just to get out there and experience somewhere like that will be great,” beamed the Mid Ulster Athletics Club runner.

“That’s one of the great things about running is one of the great experiences it gives you. I’ve been to Estonia, Paris, Portugal. It gives you the chance to experience the world and new stuff.”

Meanwhile, Gortin twins, Roisin and Eilish Flanagan were in exemplary form in America at the weekend.

The Flanagan sisters were competing at the Boston University Invitation meet where Roisin moved to fourth on all-time Irish list for the 5,000 metres indoors.

The Finn Valley AC star ran an excellent 15:36.05 minutes to finish seventh in her race. Flanagan’s race was won by Gabriela Debues-Stafford, whose 14:31.38 was a new North American record.

Her twin sister, Eilish, who ran the 3,000 metres steeplechase at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, finished second in a separate 5,000 metres race in 15:45.69.