After a catalogue of near-misses, Ireland's Nick Griggs was a triumphant and popular winner of the men’s U23 title in Lagoa, Portugal where he became the first Irishman to win an individual gold medal in SPAR European Cross Country Championships history.
And it was a relative stroll in the Parchal Urban Park for the 20-year-old who won by 12 seconds and also led Ireland to the team title.
In summary:
- Nick Griggs becomes first ever Irishman to win individual gold in championship history
- France wins individual silver and bronze
- Reigning two-time champion Will Barnicoat finishes 14th
How the race unfolded...
After being outsprinted for the title last year, Griggs made his endurance show by easing past France’s Aurélien Radja at the start of the last lap.
And when Griggs moved to the front, there was no response from Radja nor a large group contesting for the bronze medal, including training partners Stefan Nillessen from the Netherlands and Joel Ibler Lillesø from Denmark, who were too far back to make any impact on the Irishman’s lead.
Griggs, who was outsprinted by Will Barnicoat for the U23 title last year and for U20 gold in a dramatic finale in sub-zero temperatures in 2022, let out a roar of delight as he crossed the finish-line to become the first ever Irishman to win an individual title in the long history of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships.
Griggs covered the 5.96km course in 17:47, winning by a commanding 12 seconds from Radja (17:59) with his French teammate Pierre Boudiy overhauling Lillesø for the bronze medal in the latter stages - 18:03 to 18:05.
But despite claiming two of the three individual medals, the team title went to Ireland ahead of France and Spain respectively. Behind Griggs, Callum Morgan and Niall Murphy finished eighth and tenth respectively to extend Ireland's excellent record in the U23 men's team race.
Ireland also won the men's U23 team title when Albufeira staged the 2010 SPAR European Cross Country Championships before winning gold again amid euphoric scenes on home soil in Dublin 2021.
Barnicoat put up a brave defence of his title but the Brit, who has been suffering with an Achilles injury in the build-up and hasn't raced since the track season before today, could only muster up a 14th-place finish in 18:19.
What they said
Nick Griggs: "I was very nervous going into it. I am always nervous going into these races. No matter how many of them you do, I am always nervous...I had a really good block running the highest mileage I have ever run. I just got it on the start line and told myself: forget about the expectations, just go and run as fast as you can.
"It is a dream day for me. It is a dream day for the lads, It is a dream day for Ireland. I had so many silvers, I had bronze individually as well so finally, I am back on the top of the European podium. Now we are going to be on a training camp for a few weeks and then to Boston for 5000m. It is going to be very tough but I believe I can break the 13 minutes-barrier. That is my main goal for the indoor season."
Aurelien Radja: "I kept believing in the process, I took something out of the bad experience to be more mature. That opened my eyes to increase my level. Now I know I had just to be calm because one day I would get this international medal. Of course it took me much longer than I expected but it is what it is. After the disappointment of Bergen, this feels like a sweet revenge."
