Nick Griggs Establishes New Parkrun World’s Best Time

Tyrone’s 19-year-old Nick Griggs established a new world’s best time for an unassisted Parkrun, completing the event in 13 minutes and 44 seconds at Victoria Park in Belfast on Saturday. This performance surpassed the previous Parkrun world’s best, held by Great Britain’s Andy Butchart in Edinburgh last year, by one second. The Newmills athlete’s 5km time was precisely one second faster than the prior benchmark, which was established by Great Britain Olympian Andy Butchart in Edinburgh during June 2023. Additionally, the women’s world best for the event was achieved at the same Belfast location last December, when Ciara Mageean, also an Irish international athlete and Griggs’ compatriot, recorded a time of 15 minutes and 13 seconds. Parkrun itself does not officially recognize times as “world records” or “world bests,” with the organization characterizing its events as “a run and not a race.” Griggs made a significant entry into the athletics world in the summer of 2021, securing the European Under-20 3,000m title at the age of 16. Since then, he has accumulated additional European Under-20 medals in both track and cross country disciplines. His inaugural senior season this year included representing Ireland in the 1500m event at the European Championships held in Rome. The 19-year-old athlete, who is set to celebrate his 20th birthday next month, did not secure a spot on Ireland’s Olympic team, having been narrowly surpassed for 1500m selection by Andrew Coscoran, Luke McCann, and Cathal Doyle. Nevertheless, Griggs recovered from this setback, subsequently achieving personal best times across the 1500m, 3,000m, and 5,000m distances. His Northern Ireland record in the 3,000m, a time of 7:36.59 recorded at the Diamond League meeting in London on 20 July, elevated him to fourth position on the Irish all-time list for that distance, surpassing notable figures such as the 1983 world 5,000m champion Eamonn Coghlan. Furthermore, Griggs broke the Northern Ireland 5,000m record with a time of 13:13.07 at the Morton Games, placing him sixth on the Irish all-time list for that event. He also bettered his 1500m personal best, securing a win in 3:35.04 at the British Milers Club meeting in Tooting just days prior to the commencement of the Olympics.