Nick Griggs: A swift rise from obscurity to the real deal

At first they thought he was lying. It just didn’t make any sense. When 16-year-old Nick Griggs entered a 5000m race in Belfast back in May, looking to line up against some of the best Irish seniors, event organiser Seamus McCann was dubious, to say the least. The rest is history

Nick Griggs leads the field in the Junior Men’s 1500m last June in the Irish Life Health Junior Championships & U23 Specific Events at Morton Stadium, Santry. Sunday in Abbotstown, he faces the biggest test of his fledgling career, taking on a field of serious quality in the U-20 European Cross Country Championships. Picture: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

At first they thought he was lying. It just didn’t make any sense. When 16-year-old Nick Griggs entered a 5000m race in Belfast back in May, looking to line up against some of the best Irish seniors, event organiser Seamus McCann was dubious, to say the least.

The young athlete from Newmills, Co Tyrone had never broken two minutes for 800m, never broken 4:10 for 1500, and had zero 5000m form. Yet here he was, claiming he’d recently clocked a 14:26 5k in training — on his own.