‘I’m disappointed I just couldn’t hold on’ - Nicholas Griggs pipped at the line at cross-country championships

Rarely has any disappointment like this felt so contradictory. It just happens when you have a European gold medal halfway around you neck, only to lose it at the bitter end, consoled only by the knowledge you had given it your absolute all.

Ask Nicholas Griggs. The 17-year-old from Tyrone, already proven to be the country’s most exciting distance running prospect in many years, was in that gold medal winning position with the finish line fast approaching in the Under-20 race at the European Cross-Country Championships in Turin.

[ Women’s team lead record medal haul for Ireland at European Cross-Countrys ]

Then, just as that line appeared, he stumbled ever so slightly and with that Britain’s Will Barnicoat came sweeping past to take the win by a single second. It was that close.

With team mate Dean Casey just a few strides back in third, Ireland did have two podium places for the first time in this race, only for Griggs there will be that sense of that might have been - still young enough for the grade next year - or perhaps of what still might be.

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“Aye, I had a bit of a tumble towards the end, almost hit the ground,” said Griggs. “But when you are at the end like that, my legs were absolutely done. No excuses, Will was there, he’s an unbelievable athlete, and congratulations to him. With the fatigue in the legs I just didn’t have enough to hold on.

“My coach Mark [Kirk] said give it everything up that last hill, and I did. Again, I am not a natural cross-country runner, but maybe I proved everyone wrong. I thought I would go out there and give myself a chance, so I put myself up there and wanted to be brave. Again, I am disappointed [with how] I ended the race. I had it in the bag, but I stumbled and lost momentum, so Will capitalised. Yeah, I will be sore for a bit I am glad I could help the team, especially in winning silver.

“I’m disappointed I couldn’t just hold on, but I gave it everything, left everything out there, and to take home a medal, and a team silver, at a European Championship, for Ireland, that’s something to be proud of. It you’d had told me yesterday I’d win a silver medal I’d be buzzing, so mixed emotions really.”

With Sean McGinley not far back in 12th, Ireland secured that team silver with 17 points, behind Great Britain, starting the five medal haul and the best Irish showing yet at the 28th running of the event – improving on the four won in Lisbon in 2019.

Indeed it makes it 12 medals in the last three editions, evidence again of the consistency of competitiveness at this level of the sport. It also saw Ireland finish in second place on the overall medal table alongside Spain and France.

Even in winning bronze in the men’s Under-23 race, the disappointment was a lot more real: Darragh McElhinney, second last year, ended up 26th after running close to the front early on, Britain’s Charles Hicks defending the title won so magnificently last year in Dublin.

Efrem Gidey still ran brilliantly to take fifth, Keelan Kilrehill ninth and Shane McEvoy 15th, only for McElhinney things fell apart in the second half of the race and he drifted right back.

“I think it shows, even with myself having such a bad day, we still have fellas coming through,” he said. “A bad day for us is still getting a bronze medal, so overall mixed emotions. But I think the course didn’t suit me and I went out way too hard.”

For Hicks, who won the American NCAA cross-country last month, it was the perfect day: “Last year’s winning was already an accomplishment, it was my wildest dreams,” he said, “and if I could do it again that would have been the perfect season for me. Now that I have finally done it, it’s unreal.”

After the twin sister act of Eilish and Roisin Flanagan crossed side-by-side in 11th and 12th place in the women’s race to help secure a team bronze, there were hopes the senior men might do something similar.

Only it wasn’t to be: Peter Lynch of Kilkenny City Harriers was the best of them and finished 15th ahead of Hiko Tonosa Haso in 27th and Brian Fay in 30th, leaving the team back in eighth place, certainly a little shy of their own expectations.

Sarah Healy looked well on for medal in the women’s Under-23 race, only to withdraw on the last lap after sustaining what was later reported as a possible stress fracture in her foot.

After her withdrawal, the Irish team finished seventh of nine, with Danielle Donegan first of the Irish in 28th. Italy won the gold medal they wanted there when Nadia Battocletti eventually got away from Britain’s Megan Keith to win by 13 seconds.

Both senior titles were won back by the defending champions. Jakob Ingebrigtsen, still only 22, won gold in the men’s race ahead of Britain’s Emile Cairess, the Norwegian covering the rough 10km course in 29:33 after his countrywomen Karoline Grovdal took the women’s title.

There were strong hopes the Irish mixed 4 x 1,500m relay team might make it onto the podium, after finishing a close fourth last year, only they finished below expectations, the quartet of Andrew Coscoran, Georgie Hartigan, Luke McCann and Nadia Power ending up ninth 17:56, just over half a minute behind gold medallists Italy.