Is Jake Wightman Going to Tokyo?

Kerr has the wildcard. The UK (I believe) will take the top 2 from trials (Gourley and Giles) plus a discretionary pick, which could be Wightman. Mills is focussing on 5000

hes going to Tooting on Wed night to race Pattinson. Wightman will get the third 1500m spot for Tokyo, the only other runner with the time is Fogg who couldnt even get out of the heats

It has to be Wightman unless Mills wants to double up which seems unwise given his injury.

Mills confirmed a couple of weeks ago he just wants to do the 5km. Wightman needs to prove form and should have been made to run at the trials anyway tbh given his poor record over the last 3 seasons. hes lucky that the GB 1500m team is in a weak position, after the big dogs (Kerr, Gourley & Giles), the rest arent good enough atm

That was such an odd race by Fogg - what is going on with him? he should have absolutely no problem getting to British finals. i wonder where he goes from here

With no Japanese athletes from what I can tell, is there a market for this in Tokyo, or will we see a mostly empty stadium as was the case in Eugene?

I hope not. I hate to see someone get rewarded for tactically skipping the UK Trials. He did the same thing last year. Knows he's not going to have a good showing, comes up with an excuse not to race and crosses his fingers that the selectors gamble on him over someone else who went to the trials and had a bad day. Others are punished for showing up and racing and he's rewarded for sitting at home.

You can only blame the 1500m scene in the UK disintegrating in absurd fashion. Kerr might be the only guy to make the semi. Not sure what UK Athletics should do, and it’s not like World Athletics can strip the extra slot and give it to the US who has the last global champ and 5 guys who would smoke UKs no. 2 at this point.

If he's fit, Wightman will be selected in the 1500. He won't be going in the 800, there's others with the standard.

However, the selection for the British men's 800 team has the potential to be an absolute sh1tshow. Burgin is assured, but the 2nd and 3rd placers at the champs don't have the standard. You then have a few guys who have the standard like Callum Elson, Henry Jonas, and Ben Pattison. Pattison has been awful all year and then pulled the standard out of his arse in Budapest after he stunk out the British champs. I guess he will be selected on that basis and as a former World's and Commonwealth medallist. I'd then take Henry Jonas but he's young and UKA likes to hold back young athletes (Keely Hodgkinson almost didn't go to Tokyo in 2021). It would be really funny of Botterill and Crorkan picked up the standard before the selection meeting just to really make it a mess for selectors.

George Mills would be the UK number 2 (if not number 1 on time this season). I presume you mean five Americans would 'smoke' him because he broke his wrist? No American has run faster than him this season.

GB's 4 x 1500m would be a match for anybody aside from the USA and Kenya. Yes, Kerr is the world champion, that is why we have an extra slot. At least all our guys will be British born, with only one of yours American born (and one being an obviously juiced Kenyan who can hardly speak English).
Imagine if GB started fast tracking Kenyans into the team due to the Commonwealth citizenship? But...we don't play it that way.

Jake Wightman had the flu. He's looked good this season and was progressing nicely. You're demented if you think he won't make the semis (unless he gets injured again).

Pretty sure Hocker and Strand were both born in the US

Wightman needs to prove form? 1st and 2nd at the champs were Gourley and Giles (although Giles should have been DQ'd but that's a different topic...) and Wightman already very comfortably beat them only 3 weeks before at the same distance in the London Diamond League. Add in his season's 1:44 800 and 3:47 mile and I'd easily put him in the team before Giles, if nothing else at least he's not going to be tripping up his teammates.

With the UK policy of first 2 at champs and assuming everyone is fit, the 1500 team(4) will be

Kerr(WC wildcard), Gourley (1st British Champs), Giles (2nd Champs), discretionary pick Wightman (next fastest and 3 seconds ahead of anyone else)

5K Mills

800 is tricky to predict, but will be Burgin (UK champ), Croken (uk 2nd) only if he runs the standard, Patterson as previous medal winner. If Croken doesnt run the standard I dont envy the selectors their choice (I'd Pick Jonas just on potential despite worse head to head with Davies and Hussey)

Wightman has just posted he is running the 800m at Tooting BMC on Wednesday and the 1500m at Brussels Diamond League on Friday.

Presumably he has been asked by UKA to prove form and will be given a discretionary pick for the World Championships if he gives a good showing this week. I would much rather see him in the 1500m rather than 800m but it may be politically easier to give him the 800m selection.

Mills isn’t contesting the 1500 - he’s irrelevant to the conversation as a 5K runner. 4 of the 5 Americans were born in the US, so unsure what you’re talking about. Koech speaks fluent English just with an accent.

Am I demented? Wightman hasn’t made the line of a heat, let alone semi since 2022. You can’t put an injury/illness in parenthetical when he can’t even line up for UK Champs routinely.

Given, there are 4 slots in the 1500 for UK, it will be much easier to pick him for that, if you take mills out the equation (which he has done). The 800 is an absolute dogfight for places in the UK as despite there being 7 Guys with the world standard (Wightman doesn't have it and is not in the rankings either), only 1, max Burgin finished in the top 3 at trials, so plenty to fight for and people still chasing the standard. Unless Wightman drops a 1.42 in Tooting and really wants it he is not getting a spot in the 800.

And two of the 'five Americans who could spank the British number 2' aren't contesting the 1500m either. So what's your point?

It’s possible one of them will and the point is the bye system is nonsense when there’s a gap year. Too much can occur over 2 years. It’s even more obvious when the DL Final now is 2 weeks away from the Championships. They probably could streamline things and just make byes all DL Final-based. There’re few scenarios where a defending global champ wouldn’t make it. Maybe just short hurdles in the US.

The system was designed to reward athletes and not countries. It should add competition not make a farce of it like tactically running off events at nationals or skipping them altogether. To add another country the situation for the women’s 800 with Kenya was also a joke.

That's absurd. Wightman was only 4 tenths behind Hocker at Pre and beat Kessler. Gourley always does enough even if he tends to sh1t the bed in finals. There'll be at least three Brits in the semis and probably two in the final