Top 10 finishes for Griggs and Tuthill at World U20s

The pair had mixed emotions

Nick Griggsat  the 2022 Irish Life Health National Indoor Championships

Irish athletes Nick Griggs and Nicola Tuthill had mixed emotions after securing top-10 finishes at the World U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia, last night. Griggs finished ninth in the men’s 3000m final in 8:04.42, a race won by Ethiopia’s Melkeneh Azize in 7:44.06, while Tuthill finished eighth in the women’s hammer throw with 60.47m, which was won by Italy’s Rachele Mori with 67.21m.

Given what he was up against, Griggs was content with his finish. Having never trained or raced at altitude before – Cali sits at over 1000m – he “felt awful” during his qualifying heat on Wednesday and he was put to the test early in the 3000m final as Uganda’s Dan Kibet blasted the first lap in 57 seconds. Griggs sat off the pace and tracked Eritrea’s Habtom Samuel, the 5000m bronze medallist, and he finished just behind him, with Griggs the second non-African finisher.