Let’s be honest he fluked the world title. Yes it will always be in the history books but now he is an injury prone second tier pro who may struggle to even make a GB team.
It was only a fluke in he reached a level that season he never hit before or after. And he ran the perfect tactical race peaking exactly in the race. But it wasn’t fluky, it was a great performance. And he was a tier A British athlete from 2019-2022, it just so happens the injuries came on so badly after. Yes, I think he has probably overdone it in travel and cashing appearance fees since which hasn’t helped.
This is right. The only really flukey gold medal I can remember is Emma Coburn's, and even then, you could argue that part of that event is staying on your feet. Wightman's win was no more flukey than Hacker's. It's been crap for Jake since then but he's one of the sport's genuine nice guys so I'm rooting for him to get back to being competitive, but it will be a stretch at his age in 1500 - it's no country for old men.
Major Championships and International Record 2022 - World Championships - 1500m GOLD, Commonwealth Games - 1500m BRONZE, European Championships - 800m SILVER 2021 - Olympic Games - 1500m 10th 2019 - World Championships - 1500m 5th. 2018 - European Championships - 1500m BRONZE. Commonwealth Games - 1500m BRONZE, 800m 4th. World Indoor Championships - 800m 6th. 2017 - World Championships - 1500m 8th sf. 2016 - European Championships - 1500m 7th. 2014 - Commonwealth Games - 1500m 8th (h). 2013 - European Junior Championships - 1500m GOLD.
Top runner and a really nice guy. Will be interesting to see who ends up being coached by - I'm gonna guess there is someone already lined up. Wonder if he'll join up with Steve Cram as Laura Muir has done.
He still has the potential to be a threat to win global championships when healthy with his 800/1500 abilities.
Absolutely- he ran a 3:47 and a 1:44 last year coming off of a major injury so a properly healthy Wightman is still something to be feared, as I presume he has the fastest 800 pb out of all of the current crop of milers.
he weighed about 6 stone wet through, would imagine stress fractures eventually struck. think he was also a bit of a liability and expelled from many schools so could have had other issues
Wyllie was a much better prospect but think he went to St Marys so inevitably Mick Woods training would have worn him down
He still has the potential to be a threat to win global championships when healthy with his 800/1500 abilities.
Absolutely- he ran a 3:47 and a 1:44 last year coming off of a major injury so a properly healthy Wightman is still something to be feared, as I presume he has the fastest 800 pb out of all of the current crop of milers.
don't see a problem with switching, it up no matter who was coaching. for a fresh start, something new, get out of the routine, change in lattitude attitude, and maybe a new coach can carve a couple of seconds off the PB, and know some hacks, state of the art...
i mean in other sports, how long do coaches last? boxing, mma, tennis, etc.
the coaching results speak for themselves, they did great. and stood the test of time.
Absolutely- he ran a 3:47 and a 1:44 last year coming off of a major injury so a properly healthy Wightman is still something to be feared, as I presume he has the fastest 800 pb out of all of the current crop of milers.
don't see a problem with switching, it up no matter who was coaching. for a fresh start, something new, get out of the routine, change in lattitude attitude, and maybe a new coach can carve a couple of seconds off the PB, and know some hacks, state of the art...
i mean in other sports, how long do coaches last? boxing, mma, tennis, etc.
the coaching results speak for themselves, they did great. and stood the test of time.
switching at this point is a great idea, and i think people make too much of how awkward, insulting or uncomfortable or whatever it is to make a change. There comes a point where both coach and athlete should realize there hasn't been movement, and a shakeup may be necessary to get a fresh start.
As a high school coach, I usually wish I had another 2 or 3 or 4 years with a kid, but when you have a guy who hasn't progressed in the last 3 or 4 years, sometimes you need to take a shot with fresh eyes.
And honestly it's just a hail mary at this point, but why not try?
Is he currently injured? I can’t remember why he pulled out of the US races. He was down to run the Keely classic, hasn’t done indoors. I thought he was back and training was going well.
Nothing on his insta as to why he’s pulled out of all these races.
He said before NB boston, something like he was feeling a bit niggly/rundown off the plane and that it was a sign of a mature athlete that he was being Conservative and sitting that one out.
Then he went dark for Millrose, Keely Klassic and GB Champs.
So he's almost certainly injured
He moved to Manchester this year to be closer to his physio so in hindsight that may have been a stepping stone to leave Geoff go gently.
Thanks. I hope he can come back from this. Another year ruined by injury would be such a shame for him.
Did a post even really start a thread on here if there isn't a blatant typo in the title? Sometimes I swear the forum has a feature that adds a typo to each title.
I don’t understand why all you guys don’t seem to know about Jake’s DL win in 2017, where he took down a lot of WC medalists and even the gold champ that year… Check out this link:
Thanks for sharing. It does get forgotten because he got bounced at the semis in London at World Champs. But it did show promise for timing and his kick that obviously were huge assets later on.
At this point he should just run through his injuries. What's the worst that could happen? I ran through pain all the time and worked 48 hours / week.
Brainless comment. You don't think he's tried? Every runner has tried to run through their injuries, do you really think you're special in that regard?
And the worst that could happen is that he gets a stress fracture and has to sit out the WCs again.
"For 15 years this has been the best kind of adventure that a father and son could have together.
My training worked ok until the end of 2022. Since then it has just produced a series of five badly-timed injuries. If you aren't part of the solution, sometimes you are part of the problem, and it's time to step away.
I won't be coaching Jake going forward. He will do his own thing, but here's to many more days like the ones above"
Seems unfortunate, but probably the best move for all involved. Dude was a heck of a coach when he was on, A WC gold and the 3rd fastest British 1500 ever is nothing to sneeze at.