Costin and Griffin fail to reach the finish

JAMIE COSTIN, on his comeback, and Colin Griffin, on his debut, both failed to finish the 50k walk at the world championships in Osaka on Saturday.

Griffin had to watch the race develop from the side of the course when he was disqualified after just 12 kilometres while Costin ended up on a stretcher at 42 kilometres after cramping. The West Waterford man climbed off the stretcher and walked back to the stadium with the Irish team manager, Patsy McGonagle, and coordinator, Pat Ryan.

At the Sydney Olympics he displayed similar courage when he refused the offer of a wheelchair at the end of the 50k and walked to the Medical Room where he was on a drip for several hours. He was suffering from heat exhaustion and severe dehydration.