Josh Griffiths (born 3 November 1993) is a Welsh marathon runner. He finished 13th at the

2017 London Marathon The 2017 London Marathon was the 37th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 23 April. Mary Jepkosgei Keitany won the women's race, setting a new women-only marathon world record with a time of 2:17:0 ...

, and was the first Briton to finish, in a time of 2:14:49. His unexpected performance earned him a place at the 2017 World Championships.

Running career

Griffiths's debut marathon was at the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...

on 23 April 2017. Representing his club,

Swansea Harriers Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, he started the race alongside other club runners, behind the elite athletes. He finished the race in 2:14:49 in thirteenth place overall, the first of the British runners. His performance gained him qualification to represent Great Britain at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in London in 2017. The

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

was held on 6 August, and Griffiths completed the race in a time of 2:20.06 to finish in 39th place. In 2021 Griffiths finished 8th in the

on 3 October. He is a self-coached athlete.

Personal life

Griffiths, aged 23 at the time of the 2017 London Marathon, lives in his family's home in rural

West Wales West Wales ( cy, Gorllewin Cymru) is not clearly defined as a particular region of Wales. Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, which historically comprised the Welsh principality of ''Deheuba ...

. He studied at

Cardiff Metropolitan University , image_name = Shield of Cardiff Metropolitan University.svg , image_size = 150px , motto = cy, Gorau Meddiant Gwybodaeth , mottoeng = The most valuable possession is knowledge , established = 2011 – Car ...

, and graduated with a master's degree in sports coaching in July 2017.

References

1993 births Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games British male marathon runners Living people Commonwealth Games competitors for Wales Swansea Harriers Athletics Club Welsh male long-distance runners {{UK-athletics-bio-stub