 Wightman at the2022 European Athletics Championships inMunich | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1994-07-11)11 July 1994 (age 30) Nottingham,England, United Kingdom[1] |
| Education | Loughborough University[2] |
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Weight | 67 kg (148 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Great Britain & N.I. Scotland |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event | Middle-distance running |
| Club | Edinburgh AC[3] |
| Coached by | Geoff Wightman[4] |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personalbests | |
Jake Wightman (born 11 July 1994)[5] is a Britishmiddle-distance runner who primarily competes in the1500 metres. He won the gold medal at the2022 World Championships, the first global gold in a middle distance event for aBritish male sinceSeb Coe's 1500 m title at the1984 Los Angeles Olympics.[4][6] At theEuropean Athletics Championships, Wightman earned a bronze in2018 and a silver for the800 metres in2022. He won bronze medals at the2018 and2022Commonwealth Games.
He holds two Scottish records (800 m and1000 m) and is a two-time British champion.
As a junior athlete, Wightman was the2013 European Under-20 champion in the1500 metres.[7]
In April 2018, he won his first major senior medal, with bronze for the 1500 m at theGold Coast Commonwealth Games, where he also finished fourth in the800 m.[5] In June, he set a Scottish record for the1000 m with a time of 2:16.27 at theDiamond League meeting inStockholm, breaking the previous record which had stood since 1984.[8] Wightman took bronze in the 1500 m at theBerlin European Athletics Championships in August.[5] That year he became the first Briton to run below 1:45 in the 800 m and 3:35 in the 1500 m sincePeter Elliott in 1991.[9]
The 25-year-old placed fifth in the 1500 m at the2019 World Athletics Championships held inDoha, Qatar, running3:31.87 in the final.[5]
In 2020, Wightman broke the Scottish 1500 m record with a time of 3:29.47, finishing in third place at theMonacoDiamond League.[10]
At the postponed2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021, he placed 10th in theevent in a time of 3:35.09.[5]
Wightman won the gold medal in the1500 m event at theWorld Championships inEugene, Oregon in July with a personal best and world-leading time of 3:29.23, beating reigning Olympic champion and European record holderJakob Ingebrigtsen (3:29.47). It was the first British world 1500 m title sinceSteve Cram in1983, the first Scottish world title on the track sinceLiz McColgan's 10,000 m gold in1991, and ended a streak of seven consecutive golds in the event from Kenya-born runners. The mark moved him to third on the UK all-time list. His father, Geoff Wightman, formermarathoner and long-time media commentator, called the race as in-stadium commentator.[11][12][4]
Wightman continued his good form in August by taking a bronze in his specialist event at the Commonwealth GamesBirmingham 2022, and a silver for the 800 m at theEuropean Championships held inMunich.[5][13]
In September, he broke the 1:44-barrier in the 800 m for the first time, improvingTom McKean’s 33-year-old Scottish record of 1:43.88 in his fifth overallDiamond League victory with a time of 1:43.65 inBrussels.[14] He capped his breakthrough season on theroad a few days later, winning for the third time theFifth Avenue Mile in New York (he also won in 2018 and 2021).[15]
Across the season, Wightman set also Scottish records in the 1000 m andone mile, as well as revised his personal bests in the indoor3000 m and road mile.[16][17] He was named bySports Journalists' Association Sportsman of the Year, whileBritish Athletics Writers' Association awarded himJohn Rodda Award for British Male Athlete of the Year for the second time, among others.
Going into the 2023 season, Wightman had high hopes of defending his1500 m title at the World Championships in Budapest. However in January, after sustaining a freak foot injury during a gym session in South Africa, he was forced to spend 5 weeks in a boot, whilecross-training to remain in good shape.
He returned to running that spring, aiming to be ready for Budapest, being able to skip qualification given his status as the reigning world champion. However after numerous achilles, shin, and hamstring issues, he decided to play it safe and focus on the 2024 Olympic year, withdrawing from the World Championships.[18] In his absence, his childhood schoolmate and club colleague,Josh Kerr, succeeded him as world champion in the 1500 metres.
After missing theBritish Championships due to a calf injury, Wightman was selected to represent Great Britain in the 800 metres at theParis Olympics.[19][20][21]He pulled out just days before he was scheduled to race because of a hamstring injury.[22][23]
Wightman attendedStewart's Melville College andFettes College, both independent schools in Edinburgh, before studying atLoughborough University.[24] Although born in England, Wightman moved toLinlithgow as a child and represents Scotland internationally.[25]
His father and coach Geoff Wightman represented England in themarathon at the1990 Commonwealth Games inAuckland, whilst his motherSusan Tooby and his auntAngela Tooby represented Great Britain at the Summer OlympicsSeoul 1988.[10][26][27]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | European Junior Championships | Rieti, Italy | 1st | 1500 m | 3:44.14 |
| 2014 | Commonwealth Games | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 16th (h) | 1500 m | 3:43.87 |
| 2016 | European Championships | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 7th | 1500 m | 3:47.68 |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 20th (sf) | 1500 m | 3:41.79 |
| 2018 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 6th | 1500 m | 3:58.91 |
| Commonwealth Games | Gold Coast, Australia | 4th | 800 m | 1:45.82 | |
| 3rd | 1500 m | 3:35.97 | |||
| European Championships | Berlin, Germany | 3rd | 1500 m | 3:38.25 | |
| 2019 | World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 5th | 1500 m | 3:31.87 |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 10th | 1500 m | 3:35.09 |
| 2022 | World Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 1st | 1500 m | 3:29.23 |
| Commonwealth Games | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 3rd | 1500 m | 3:30.53 | |
| European Championships | Munich, Germany | 2nd | 800 m | 1:44.91 |
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