Wightman shows he has bottle for battle
JAKE WIGHTMAN pushed himself through the pain barrier in Manchester last night but the Scottish prospect was rewarded with a victory at the BMC Grand Prix that all but clinched his spot in the 1,500 metres at the Commonwealth Games.
The European Under-20 champion produced a solo burst on the final lap to win in 3.41:40, six hundredths of a second inside the qualifying standard for Glasgow. With just seven days until the selection deadline, the 19-year-old from Edinburgh admitted he had little option but to test his own limits with the chance to compete at Hampden in the balance.
‘When there was a lap to go and I came through the bell in 2.42, I thought I’d bottled it in terms of getting the time,’ he said.
‘I’d no choice but to go for it and it was hurting all the way. I felt sick at the finish but it’s worth it.’
With Chris O’Hare preselected, Mark Mitchell also pressed his case for filling a vacancy in the 1,500m with a run of 3:41.95 in Belgium while, elsewhere at the BMC meeting, Lynsey Sharp won the 800m in a season’s best of 2.01.67, narrowly outside the European Championship qualifying mark.
Gillian Cooke grabbed a lifeline for her hopes of competing at a third Commonwealth Games by leaping 6.22m in the long jump on the first day of the Bedford International.
The former world bobsleigh champion, who came second, will try to secure the second qualifying mark required today with Lisa Ferguson, her sole rival for the vacant berth, also set to compete.
‘The Games would be a great way to round off my career because I don’t see myself being around in four years’ time,’ Cooke said.
Myra Perkins joined the three-way fight for a hammer place in Scotland’s team by securing the event standard in Bedford.
The 22-year-old from Falkirk pulled out a sixthround effort of 61.32m to finish third behind UK record holder Sophie Hitchon and top-ranked Scot Rachel Hunter, with Edinburgh teenager Kimberley Reed’s Hampden hopes taking a knock as she languished in fifth.
James Campbell, looking for his second javelin qualifier, could come only fifth with a throw of 65.64m.
EILISH McCOLGAN was well off the pace in the 3,000m steeplechase at the Diamond League in Oregon, coming 10th in 10:15.59.