Jake Wightman wins the world 1500m title in Oregon (© AFP / Getty Images)
Moments after Great Britain’s Jake Wightman had upset Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen to win the men’s 1500m at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 in July, his father and coach Geoff Wightman, who had maintained his professional demeanor while calling his son’s race as the in-stadium announcer, addressed the spectators inside Hayward Field:
“If you are wondering why I have suddenly appeared on the big screen, it’s because the winner of that last race is my son, and I coach him, and he’s the new world champion.” Geoff had announced many of his son’s previous championship races, but this was the first time he was able to proudly declare him as the winner.
Third with a lap to go in the final, Wightman had edged into the lead before entering the final turn and was able to hold off Ingebrigtsen down the homestretch to secure the win with a lifetime best of 3:29.23.
After the race, he thought of his dad, and how often they had pondered what it would be like for one to win and the other to call it. “He can be a bit of a robot on the mic sometimes (he said with a laugh). “Some people say robot, some say professional. I hope he broke down today”. (He did, placing his head down on the desk in front of him).
'The biggest stage of his life'
He became the first British runner to win the 1500m at the world championships since Steve Cram finished first at the inaugural edition in Helsinki in 1983. Cram, who called the race for BBC TV, said of Wightman, "He has never been a person who talks about his running - he has always wanted his performances to speak for him. It has just been this incremental improvement all the time. He has produced his fastest run in the biggest race of his life on the biggest stage of his life."
The spikes that Wightman wore in Eugene were put to good use for the rest of this congested season before they were donated to the World Athletics Heritage Collection which is on permanent exhibit in the Museum of World Athletics (MOWA). The shoes will also be on display for five months at the MOWA-Heritage Exhibition in Budapest, Hungary, ahead of next year’s World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023.
Representing Scotland (and with his father again providing the stadium commentary), he finished third (3:30.53) in a loaded 1500 metres at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Just as he did in Eugene, he took the lead with 200 metres to go, but this time he was run down in the homestretch by Australia’s Olli Hoare (3:30.12) and Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot (3:30.21).
He then turned his attention to the 800, finishing second (1:44.91) at the European Championships in Munich, winning in Brussels in 1:43.65 to break Tom McKean’s 33-year-old Scottish Record of 1:44.95, and finishing third (1:44.10) at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Zurich. Wearing a pair of shoes that were more suitable to running on the streets of New York City, he capped off his season by winning the 5th Avenue Mile for the 3rd time (he also won in 2018 & 2021).
Over-distance background to success
He had been a finalist in the 1500 at the previous two global championships, finishing a close 5th at the 2019 Worlds in Doha (less than a half-second out of the medals), and then a disappointing 10th at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo.
“Tokyo was tough to come back from”, Wightman told Athletics Weekly’s Euan Crumley last fall. “I’m still really gutted when I think about it because it wasn’t even as if it was a case of something going wrong on the day; it was more that I wasn’t in the shape I needed to be to run my third race (following the heats and the semis) quickly”.
His father had already set in motion a plan to solve that problem, saying after the Eugene final, “The 1500 has changed (since Matthew Centrowitz’s tactical win at the Rio Olympics). “It’s no good just being the best 800 metre guy at the bell. You’ve got to have something at 3000 and 5000. All of (last) winter was directed towards over-distance”. The younger Wightman also continued to receive advice from British Olympic sprinter Laura Turner-Alleyne, who was helping him improve his finishing stride in races.
An indication that his revised training was paying off came in early February, when he ran a lifetime best of 7:37.81 for 3000 metres in New York.
His dad further reflected on his son’s lead-up to this year’s world championships, saying “I thought racing wise his notable race this year was at the Rabat Diamond League, which he won over 1500m (3:32.62). This and Oslo (where he set a Scottish Record of 3:50.30 for the mile) were intended to create two hard, fast 1500/miles which he lacked in the first part of the 2021 season, making three rounds in Tokyo quite a jolt. Training wise, he had a very good one-month altitude camp in Flagstaff during May”. (The 28-year-old also won his first British title in the 1500 in Manchester at the end of June).
Family running dynasty
It was almost a foregone conclusion that Wightman would become interested in running while growing up in Edinburgh, Scotland, since his parents were both accomplished distance runners, dad having bests of 13:42.80 (5000) and 2:13:17 (marathon), and his mother, Susan, who was his first coach, having finished 12th in the women’s marathon at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. In addition, his aunt, Angela Tooby (Susan’s twin sister), was the silver medallist at the 1988 world cross country championships.
The graduate of Loughborough University got his first taste of success on the international stage in 2013 when he was the surprise winner of the 1500 at the European U20 Championships in Rieti, Italy, a week after turning 19. He would make it to the semi-final round of the 1500 at the 2017 World Championships and then won bronze medals in the 1500 the following year at the Commonwealth Games and European Championships.
Back in training after enjoying a two-week break after Eugene, Wightman plans to compete in both the 800 and 1500 at next year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, where his father might have two opportunities to once again say, “The winner of that last race is my son, and I coach him, and he’s the new world champion.”
Walt Murphy for World Athletics Heritage
