Youth Olympic Champion Charlie Grice Discusses Victory
Candid, analytical, and heartfelt, champion runner Charlie Grice describes his experiences of the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. The Brighton native brought home the 1000 meter bronze medal last Sunday, after moving up from fifth to third with a personal best of 2 minutes and 21.85 seconds. Executing a skilful strategy, Grice preserved his momentum to unleash a sudden burst of energy for the last 150m when he knew his rivals’ endurance would wane. The feat paid off, and Grice was able to make his mark on the inaugural event with pride.
“I was really excited to be part of the first Youth Olympic Games,” reflects a jubilant Grice, according to BBC Sport. “I love racing for my country; it makes me really proud and I wanted to do the best I could.” And Grice has certainly put in the work to reach his current form; after several set-backs, a determined Grice has taken those experiences and transformed them into powerful motivating factors, determined to prove his critics wrong.
“The main focus for me this year was to gain international experience and when I missed out on getting an England vest for the Schools International at the English Schools Cross Country Championships, I was really gutted,” described Grice. “Looking back, I'm pleased that happened as it made me work a bit harder in training.” The European Youth Olympic Trials in Moscow gave Grice the opportunity to rise from defeat, and the youngster took off five seconds from his personal best to score 53.30 over 1500m, earning a qualification spot for the games in May. Needing to finish within the top three of the 1000m race to progress to Singapore, Grice remarks, “Quite a few people doubted my ability to gain the qualification time, but it felt great to prove them wrong.” Grice came in second, but that achievement was not enough for the hungry athlete. “I was gutted because I knew I had a great chance to win but this kept me focused and determined not to make the same mistakes again.”
Ranked eighth, Grice knew that he would have to dedicate his schedule to an immense amount of practice time in order to fulfil the high standards he set for himself. Taking two weeks to hone his abilities and adjust to the climate, Grice also had a heart-to-heart with Coach Jon Biggs. “We discussed tactics – how my heat had gone, what I could improve and how we felt others would run the race. We decided that I would sit in behind the leaders and get into a good position, but use as little energy as possible.”
Aside from heart and head, it was this very tactic that became key to Grice’s triumph.
“The gun went and the pace was fast, I knew that most of the field would fade away as a result of running too hard at the beginning. I settled in and then moved up the field as the race progressed. With 150m to go, as planned, I moved through and then kicked with 100m to go, moving into fifth position. At this stage I knew that the Moroccan in third place should be disqualified as he had run off the track about three times round the last bend. As a result I concentrated on beating the guy in front of me.” Sure enough, the Moroccan was eliminated, leaving Grice with his cherished third-place medal. Overwhelmed with joy, the new champion exclaimed, “It felt great to get my medal from two of the fastest men in the world at my events and to have the medal hanging round my neck was another great feeling. It's been an amazing experience.
“Over the last few weeks I have made new friends from other countries and met some great people from the other sports in Team GB. I've learnt a lot from the experience and it has ended what has been a fantastic season. I have exceeded all expectations, even my own, which are very high! Now I'm having a few weeks off!”
And as one of Britain’s most promising young champions – who are proof that victory through hard-work and passion is possible – Grice is more than entitled to bask in the aura of Olympic triumph before getting back onto the track again.
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