Jake Wightman wants a repeat of his World Championship success
(Picture: Getty Images)Britain sole gold medallist at the World Athletics Championships was basking in the glory of his greatest ever moment.
Somewhat in disbelief, Jake Wightman was lapping up the praise as he bounced from one post-race interview to the next.
Dad Geoff’s immediate response when he saw him was to bark at him “now Commonwealth Games”, which he later found out rather irritated his son still revelling in his golden moment.
It was apt that father should announce son inside Alexander Stadium on Thursday for the heats of the 1500metres for the first time as a world champion, a long-held ambition for the pair.
Wightman Sr, as he was in Eugene, is the stadium commentator for the athletics in Birmingham 2022. It just so happens he also coaches his 28-year-old son.
Wightman has the chance to double up with another gold tomorrow afternoon in potentially one of the races of these Commonwealth Games. In a truly world-class field for the final is the man he succeeded as world champion over the distance, Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot.
And there are all manner of Brits, who make up half of the field for the race, aiming for home hegemony at Birmingham 2022: Wightman’s fellow Scots in Josh Kerr and Neil Gourley, Wales’ Jake Heyward, and the English duo of Elliot Giles and Matthew Stonier.
Following his first competitive track run since an unexpected world title in which he outsprinted Jakob Ingebrigtsen to the gold, Wightman said: “It’s cool to be announced as world champion. I never really thought of it until it happened but it’s a real confidence boost.
“It was even nice just walking out around the bend, just to have the people clapping and saying well done and good luck to me. It’s special. That’s definitely the most it’s sunk in since it happened. I thought ‘yeah, I’ve actually done that.”
There has been little or no time for any sort of celebration for the 28-year-old. After winning gold in the US, he flew straight back home and has since been working hard to prepare for a Games on home soil in Scottish rather than British colours this time.
There are echoes of Seb Coe and his father Peter in the athlete-coach father-son relationship with the Wightman, although this father-and-son relationship is such that there is no shortage of ribbing each other and humour with it.
It is also a family affair with the added twist that dad will once again be commentating on another potentially nerve-wracking global final.
For his part Wightman Sr regretted turning his son’s attention immediately to Birmingham rather than relish the moment. He said: “He didn’t like that because he needed to have that night. He was travelling home the next day and that was a bit mean spirited from me really.”
He likens himself to the Captain Mainwaring figure from Dad’s Army shouting within the coaching group surrounding his son, and says the group has proved the sum of their parts.
Their summer target began with a zoom call back in May in which the Wightmans gathered with their physiotherapist Alex O’Gorman, physiologist Andy Shaw, strength and conditioning coach Andy Kay and sprint and drills coach Laura Turner-Alleyne all on the call.
Wightman again looked good to win his heat and admitted he had been inspired by competing the morning after the night that Scotland teammate Eilish McColgan had pulled off the biggest win of her career with a stunning sprint down the back straight to hold off Irene Cheptai.
“It’s so inspiring,” he said. “I was shocked by it. I knew she was in good shape as we were in Colorado Springs at the same time but she’s had a rough few weeks.
“Her Eugene performances were probably not as she wanted. I don’t think people realise how hard that must have been turn around to run as she did.”
