Jake Wightman

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Jake Wightman
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Personal information
Born (1994-07-11) 11 July 1994 (age 29)
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(s) Middle-distance running
Club Edinburgh AC[3]
Coached by Geoff Wightman[4]
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Eugene 1500 m
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2022 Munich 800 m
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Berlin 1500 m
European U20 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2013 Rieti 1500 m
Representing  Scotland
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Gold Coast 1500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Birmingham 1500 m

Jake Wightman (born 11 July 1994)[5] is a British middle-distance runner who primarily competes in the 1500 metres. He won the gold medal at the 2022 World Championships, the first global gold in a middle distance event for a British male since Seb Coe's 1500 m title at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.[4][6] At the European Athletics Championships, Wightman earned a bronze in 2018 and a silver for the 800 metres in 2022. He won bronze medals at the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games.

He holds three Scottish records (800 m, 1000 m, mile) and is a two-time British champion.

Career

As a junior athlete, Wightman was the 2013 European Under-20 champion in the 1500 metres.[7]

In April 2018, he won his first major senior medal, with bronze for the 1500 m at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, where he also finished fourth in the 800 m.[5] In June, he set a Scottish record for the 1000 m with a time of 2:16.27 at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm, breaking the previous record which had stood since 1984.[8] Wightman took bronze in the 1500 m at the Berlin 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 since Peter Elliott in 1991.[9]

File:Jake Wightman at 2021 FBK Games.jpg
Jake Wightman at the 2021 FBK Games in Hengelo

The 25-year-old placed fifth in the 1500 m at the 2019 World Athletics Championships held in Doha, Qatar, running 3:31.87 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 the Monaco Diamond League.[10]

At the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021, he placed 10th in the event in a time of 3:35.09.[5]

2022: World 1500 m champion

Wightman won the gold medal in the 1500 m event at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon in July with a personal best and world-leading time of 3:29.23, beating reigning Olympic champion and European record holder Jakob Ingebrigtsen (3:29.47). It was the first British world 1500 m title since Steve Cram in 1983, the first Scottish world title on the track since Liz McColgan's 10,000 m gold in 1991, 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, former marathoner 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 Games Birmingham 2022, and a silver for the 800 m at the European Championships held in Munich.[5][13]

In September, he broke the 1:44-barrier in the 800 m for the first time, improving Tom McKean’s 33-year-old Scottish record of 1:43.88 in his fifth overall Diamond League victory with a time of 1:43.65 in Brussels.[14] He capped his breakthrough season on the road a few days later, winning for the third time the Fifth 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 and one mile, as well as revised his personal bests in the indoor 3000 m and road mile.[16][17] He was named by Sports Journalists' Association Sportsman of the Year, while British Athletics Writers' Association awarded him John Rodda Award for British Male Athlete of the Year for the second time, among others.

Personal life

Wightman attended Stewart's Melville College and Fettes College, both independent schools in Edinburgh, before studying at Loughborough University.[18] Although born in England, Wightman moved to Linlithgow as a child and represents Scotland internationally.[19]

His father and coach Geoff Wightman represented England in the marathon at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, whilst his mother Susan Tooby and his aunt Angela Tooby represented Great Britain at the Summer Olympics Seoul 1988.[10][20][21]

Achievements

International competitions

Representing  Great Britain
Year Competition Venue Position Event
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

Circuit wins, National titles

Personal bests

Awards

References

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  2. ↑ University bio Archived 2016-08-22 at the Wayback Machine
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External links

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