Nick Griggs disappointed with silver medal finish in 3000m final at U-20 European championships

SECOND PLACE: Nick Griggs in action. Pic credit: ©INPHO/Bryan Keane

It says much about the talent and trajectory of Nick Griggs that a European silver medal could feel to him like a letdown.

But when you’re defending champion, the fastest in the field, anything less than gold can sometimes cut right to the core.

That was the case for Griggs at the European U-20 Championships in Jerusalem, Israel today, the 18-year-old Tyrone athlete outkicked in the 3000m final, which boiled down to a last-lap burn-up. 

Sweden’s Jonathan Grahn had long been identified as his chief threat and so it proved, with Grahn charging past Griggs to take gold in 8:44.67 following a lightning-quick 52-second last lap, Griggs taking silver in 8:45.69.

It makes Griggs the first Irish athlete to win a medal at separate editions of the championships but in the immediate aftermath, Griggs was not in a celebratory mood, offering an entirely unnecessary apology to those cheering him on along the way.

“It’s nice to be highly thought of among the Irish athletics community but I’m sorry to the Irish fans who were out supporting, my Mum, my Dad, my coach, that I didn’t get the job done,” he said.

Two years ago, Griggs burst on to the international scene by winning gold at these same championships at the age of 16, destroying his rivals over the last 200m with a vicious turn of pace.

He knew going into the final that the level had risen, that more would be needed to join Rhasidat Adeleke as the only Irish athlete to win two golds in the 53-year history of the event.

The first kilometre was an absolute dawdle, the field tripping over themselves as they split 3:21, with things only slightly cranking up in the laps that followed. Griggs stayed out of trouble, running towards the back, as the pace began to increase and with two laps to go, he was poised to strike, if running a little wide.

He waited until the back straight before going for broke, sweeping to the front and emptying the tank to overtake Grahn, then holding him off as he darted around it. But he had no answer to the Swede’s surge in the last 100m, Grahn beginning his celebrations early shortly after getting to the lead.

“I don’t know what happened, I was never in a great position the whole race,” said Griggs. “I did what I did the last time – take it up with 300m to go and tried to burn them – but Jonathan is a really good athlete, he’s got speed. Not my day, but hopefully there’s plenty more to come.”

Whether he won silver or lost gold, Griggs walked off the track with a valuable lesson for his future progression.

“I need to work on that 100m strength,” he said. “It’s two races (in a row) where I’ve been outkicked in a similar way.”

He will next be in action at the World Championships in Budapest, having secured a late spot in the 1500m via his world ranking.

“I’ll take some time to reflect and I’ll go out and give it a run there,” he said. “I’m so excited for that. There’s no pressure as I’m so young.”

Earlier in the day, Elizabeth Ndudi secured a place in the women’s long jump final with a leap of 6.37m, while the Irish men’s 4x400m team was just off the national U-20 record when clocking 3:10.43 to advance to the final in second.

The women’s 4x400m advanced to their final on time after clocking 3:39.02 to finish fourth in the heats. Ava Rochford equalled her PB in the high jump final, clearing 1.80m to finish 10th.

Oisin Joyce finished sixth in the men’s javelin final, his best of 70.25m coming up just two metres shy of a medal.