Karl Griffin Just Misses Final At World Junior Champs

Karl Griffin (UCD AC) was the last of the Irish competitors at the World Junior Championships in Oregon last night, the Donegal athlete finishing fourth in his 800m semi-final in 1:49.97. Griffin’s time was unfortunately not fast enough to advance to today’s final as a fastest loser.

The 19-year-old UCD AC athlete positioned himself well throughout the race as the field went through 400m in 53.94 seconds. On the back straight, Griffin moved up from sixth to fourth, and challenged for third place all the way down the home straight, but eventually had to settle for fourth.

“I’m a bit disappointed today,” he said afterwards. “I thought I could make the final out here, but I just came up short. I finished the competition ranked 12th, so that’s not bad.

“I’ll go home now and sit down with my coach and figure out if I’ll run any more races this year. It’s been a great experience out here. Running in this stadium, against this level of competition, will only do me good in the future.”