Dec 10,2024
Nick Griggs has set his sights on World Athletics Championship qualification at 5,000 metres in 2025 after ending another year of progression with silver at the Under-23 European Cross Country Championships in Turkey on Sunday.
The 19-year-old from Tyrone set national U20 records at 1500, 3000 and 5000 metres this year and despite competing in the 1500m at the European Athletics Championships in June, expects to target the longer distance for next year's Worlds in Tokyo.
"I'm proud of what I managed to do yesterday and managed to put together a good race.
"In terms of 2025, I think obviously making world seniors is the biggest aim. It's the biggest championships of the year next year, with no Olympics.
"The 5,000, hopefully once I can do that, who knows what happens once you can get there, you go on, you give it your all and see what happens.
"And then I have the European Under-23 Championships [in July]. Hopefully, in the 5,000 meters, if I can make it there fit and healthy, I can maybe redeem for yesterday and hopefully get the win.
"So I think it's very exciting. And hopefully we'll see improvements in time over the next year as well, over all distances. It's all about just improving year on year, getting quicker, getting better. And just keep wrapping up the medals.
"In terms of the major championships, I'm probably going to be a 5,000-metre runner in the future. I think that's probably where my best opportunity lies to win medals at senior level."
Nick Griggs powers home with an incredible performance to take silver medal at the Under-23 SPAR European Cross Country Championships 2024 in Turkey.
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) December 8, 2024
Watch live: https://t.co/8r55LhgRBk pic.twitter.com/qzUgprslWW
Griggs only turns 20 on Wednesday week - he says being a December baby has pushed him harder to compete with older rivals - but collected his fourth consecutive individual cross country medal yesterday.
After the disappointment of being pipped on the line for U20 gold in 2022 and taking bronze last year, winning silver at the higher age grade was another step up.
He is still frustrated not to have added individual gold to the team medal he led Ireland to last year, however.
"You always want to win gold, and I definitely feel like I had the ability going in to get the job done. The way the course was, it was good conditions, it was firm. It kind of suited me.
"So I thought if I was ever going to win a European, it was probably going to be yesterday, but I just didn't get the job done.
"Obviously, there's a wee bit of disappointment, but I think when you win a European silver, how disappointed can you be? I gave it my all, and when you do that, that's all you can do."
