New Ross Standard

Cyclist Mia competes with the world’s best

- By DAVID LOOBY

TALENTED athlete Mia Griffin, from Glenmore, has represente­d Ireland in a major cycling competitio­n in Hong Kong, her team coming agonisingl­y close to a top eighth finals place.

Mia competed on January 24 with the Irish Women’s Pursuit Squad at the Track World Cup in Hong Kong where they finished in an agonising ninth position, just 0.197 seconds from qualifying for the last eight of the world.

This follows the teams personal best time at London last December. The Track World Championsh­ips now beckons for Mia and her team in Pruszkow, Poland, in late February. Mia and her Team Pursuit Squad are aiming to qualify for the Toyko Olympics 2020.

Mia (20) hails from Glenmore and is a past pupil of St Mary’s Secondary School, New Ross, and a member of Barrow Wheelers Cycling Club.

A talented sportswoma­n, Mia previously captained the Kilkenny Intermedia­te Camogie Team. Mia commenced college in Carlow in September 2017 but having weighed up her commitment­s to Cycling Ireland a decision was made that she park her college and immerse herself in cycling having discussed this with her then coach Neil Delahaye and High Performanc­e director Brian Nugent.

Mia is in full-time training and lives in Mallorca as most of her training is carried out in the Velodrome in Palma on the track. She has yet to receive funding but she is hopeful that this year something may happen as her times and performanc­es are up there with some of the top track cyclists in the world.

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 ??  ?? Mia competes in the 10km Individual World Cup Track Scratch race in Hong Kong last month.
Mia competes in the 10km Individual World Cup Track Scratch race in Hong Kong last month.

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