Colin Griffin represented Ireland in the men’s 50 kilometres race walk at two Olympic Games – Beijing 2008 and London 2012 – in a career defined as much by extraordinary resilience as by athletic achievement.

At Beijing he was disqualified around the 20km mark; at London, having survived two early red cards over 38 gruelling kilometres while in contention for a top-16 finish and a significant personal best, he was disqualified with less than 12 kilometres remaining – one of the most heartbreaking moments in Irish athletics at those Games.

Griffin comes from Ballinamore, Co. Leitrim, and has sport in his blood: his father was the athletics team coach at the Munich 1972 and Moscow 1980 Olympics and a former president of Athletics Ireland, and his mother Patricia was a multi-title winner. His qualification for London 2012 was itself an epic story – he made five attempts to qualify over two years, surviving injuries, illness, abdominal trouble and a disqualification in Germany with less than two kilometres remaining in what would have been an automatic qualifying time.

He finally secured his place at the World Race Walking Cup in Saransk with six minutes to spare. Away from competition he trained in Limerick and in Saluzzo, Italy under coach Sandro Damilano, finished 10th at the 2010 European Championships and 12th at the 2012 World Cup, and held the Irish 50km record. He retired in 2014, subsequently earning a PhD researching Achilles rehabilitation at the University of Nice, working as a strength and conditioning coach, directing Altitude Centre Ireland, and coaching fellow Leitrim Olympian Laura Reynolds.