Nottingham-born Jake ends GB’S long wait for world title
NOTTINGHAM-BORN Jake Wightman put in a stunning performance to claim Great Britain’s first 1,500m world title in almost 40 years, going back to when Steve Cram triumphed in 1983.
Wightman’s evident shock upon crossing the finish line in a time of three minutes 29.23 was matched only by his father’s reaction, who just happened to be the stadium announcer in Eugene for this special moment for his son.
Geoff told the Hayward Field crowd: “Running is coming home. Wow. That is my son and he is the world champion.”
It was a moment to elicit goosebumps for any spectators, as the 28-year-old burst past Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the closing stages. This moment had long been in the making for Wightman, who firmly put the disappointment of finishing 10th in the Olympics last year behind him.
In the 39-year history of the World Athletics Championships, this is without doubt one of Britain’s most unexpected victories. However, those closest to Jake saw the obvious talent and drive he had to succeed, with all his efforts over the best part of a decade finally bearing fruit.
■ Who is Jake Wightman and why does he represent Scotland?
Jake Wightman was born in Nottingham in July 1994. However, when it comes to the Commonwealth Games, which will be taking place in Birmingham this summer, he represents Scotland instead of England.
This is because he was actually raised north of the border, a time he believes helped him develop to become the world-class athlete he is today. He is also a member of Edinburgh Athletic Club.
Athletics was an inevitable career path for Jake, as the sport runs in his family’s blood. Not only is his father Geoff now a commentator and stadium announcer, he was also an athlete himself, representing England in the marathon at the 1990 Commonwealth Games.
As if that wasn’t enough to get Jake’s running juices going, his mum, Susan, and aunt, Angela Tooby-smith, were also Olympians. They both competed in Seoul 1988, with Susan finishing 12th in the marathon and Angela running in the 10,000m.
Most of his family’s holidays revolved around athletics, and so he proved destined to work towards becoming a professional athlete himself. Jake previously told the BBC: “From aged eight, I always said my dream job was to be a professional athlete, which I am lucky enough to be able to live out now.”
Despite still participating in other sports until his late teens at school, including rugby, football and hockey, he recalled starting to do two serious track sessions a week at Meadowbank when he was 16, as he told Scottish Athletics. He could see Edinburgh AC team-mates Chris O’hare and Josh Kerr smashing out sessions, and Wightman duly put all his focus on becoming a better runner himself.
He then moved to study at Loughborough University and in his third year, he was on placement at St Mary’s in Twickenham, where he learned many valuable lessons.
These included improvements in training, recovery and nutrition, as he shared a house with a selection of some of the country’s best athletes at the time.
■ Jake Wightman’s achievements before ultimate triumph
In 2011, as an underclassman, Jake won the Scottish Schools Championships over the 1,500m distance, which he began to target as his discipline. He then achieved his first international gold medal two years later, crossing the finish line first at the European Junior Championships in Rieti, Italy.
Wightman had the proud honour of representing Scotland at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where he finished eighth in his heat. By the 2016 European Championships in Amsterdam, Jake was named in the Team GB squad, and vindicated his selection as he qualified for his first senior-level international final, where he came seventh.
Continuing to improve year-onyear, his first senior medals came in both the 2018 Commonwealth Games and European Championships, achieving bronze on both occasions. However, Olympic success continued to elude him, as he came 10th in last year’s Tokyo Olympics, but that proved the catalyst to him claiming the greatest title of his young career.
■ How did Jake Wightman win gold at the 2022 World Championships
After Olympic disappointment, Wightman had to swallow his pride and duly competed in more crosscountry and 3,000m races.
These represented events well out of the middle-distance runner’s comfort zone but proved necessary to improve his stamina and retain the strength in his legs.
All this hard work was rewarded as he pushed beyond what his competitors were capable of with just 200m to go.
To grab the gold medal, Wightman had to overcome all three of the medal winners from last year’s Tokyo Olympics - Ingebrigtsen, Timothy Cheruiyot and Josh Kerr - as well as the world’s fastest man in 2022 - Abel Kipsang.
Wightman proudly stepped on the top step of the podium a few minutes later, with his father announcing: “Gold medallist, and representing Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Jake Wightman.”