As it was, the 31-year-old was in peak condition in the Japanese capital but did not have the legs down the final straight of his 1500m heat, finishing eighth as he failed to qualify for the semi-finals, unlike compatriots Josh Kerr, Neil Gourley and Jake Wightman.
For a man who has battled Achilles injuries, a slipped disc in his back and even a serious motorbike accident that gave him brain damage, arriving at major championships injury-free was a rarity in itself.
Catch up on the action 🗞️
Day two of the #WorldAthleticsChamps is in the bag, here’s everything that happened 👇#NovunaGBNI #WCHTokyo25
— British Athletics (@BritAthletics) September 14, 2025
And that is what makes this run all the more disappointing for the Birchfield Harrier.
He said: “I’m absolutely devastated. It’s hard to really process how s**t that feels, especially when you’ve done everything, especially when you feel like you know you can perform.
“I’ve never been in such good shape coming into a championships, yet I think it’s the first time I’ve been knocked out in the first round, bar my first Olympics in 2016, where I was a deer in the headlights.
“But it just shows how the sport can be. Then you have to sort of question yourself, am I good enough on this level?
“I can be fit enough. But do I have the race craft? Because I’ve been in this position so many times.
“And there’s something I have to really think about and work on moving forward because that wasn’t good enough.”
Giles looked to be in good position coming into the final lap of four, but when the field started to pick up the pace, he had no answer.
It comes after a season where he deliberately reduced how much he raced, instead focusing on training.
That meant he arrived in Japan confident in his form, but following this outing, Giles will need to rethink his approach.
He added: “I crossed the line feeling like I hadn’t even raced. I changed my whole season up.
“I raced a lot less, I was in bed by 7.45 last night! I had a good eight to nine hours sleep but I didn’t see a scenario where I didn’t make it through.
“I wish I could give you an excuse. I wish I could say I’ve had an injury, I wish I could say I’ve been ill, I wish I could say that I got tripped in the race.
“Genuinely I had a really bad one. I can’t tell you why it was that bad. That home straight was like a simulation.
“I was like, ‘Elliot, go, go, go’. And I just couldn’t find another gear.
“We’ve done everything down to a tee and we still messed it up.”
Searingly honest, as always, Giles will leave these championships with more questions than answers.
Follow all the action from the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 on BBC.
