Athletics-World Champion Wightman eyes middle-distance double in 2023

New 1,500 metres world champion Jake Wightman will close the book on a career-defining season at the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York next month, and will look to bring British athletics back to its roots with a middle-distance double in 2023.

The 28-year-old Briton produced one of the most memorable moments in Eugene, Oregon, when he outkicked Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen on the final lap with his father, Geoff, calling him home as the stadium announcer. The moment catapulted former middle-distance powerhouse Britain back on top for the first time since Steve Cram won in 1983, and earned Wightman the adoration of British fans who grew up watching Sebastian Coe twice claim Olympic gold.

“It means a lot to the public because they can kind of compare to what’s happened before,” he told Reuters, as the full meaning of his father announcing the win had only recently sunk in. “It’s easy at the time to be caught up in the adrenaline of racing and then he’s doing his thing, I’m doing mine. And certainly when you step back and see the two in sync, you realise it was a big moment for both of us.”

He finished third at the Commonwealth Games just a little over two weeks later but that breakneck schedule failed to diminish his competitive drive, as he took up the 800 metres at the European Championships, finishing second despite having little idea how he would perform over the distance. Now, with wildcard entry guaranteed in the 1,500 metres at next year’s worlds in Budapest, Wightman said he wants to qualify for the British 800-metres team, as well.

“If the timetable allowed it, I’d love to do both,” he said. “The greats of British middle distance running were as good at eight and 15 and we kind of lost that a little bit so that everyone feels as though you now have to be a sole 800-metre runner or 15 runner… I’ve never been in a position to be able to do that. So I hope I can I can make that happen.”

He expects his final challenge of 2022, defending his title in the iconic New York road mile on Sept. 11, to be a fitting close to an explosive season. While the entire field hasn’t been set yet, he anticipates that this will likely be “one of the toughest years” to compete: “It’s definitely one that you can’t go into and to expect to win at all.”

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