Lessons Learned

JAKE WIGHTMAN TALKS TO EUAN CRUMLEY ABOUT WHY A GROWING DEPTH OF CHAMPIONSHIPS EXPERIENCE WAS CRUCIAL WHEN IT CAME TO THE CRUNCH IN 2019

- Jake Wightman

EVERYONE makes mistakes. To err is human, after all. The trick comes in not making the same slip-ups twice and it’s his success in avoiding some pitfalls of the past which has given Jake Wightman the healthiest dose of encouragement after another eventful year for the 25-year-old.

Having won Commonwealth and European bronze over 1500m in 2018, that momentum was halted by a stress fracture to his sacrum just before the turn of the year. Wightman can pinpoint just how and why it happened, which in itself has provided a big lesson, and the interrupted build-up did mean there was a certain shakiness to his track return in the summer.

He did claim a spot on the British team at the world championships, but only just after finishing third at the trials in Birmingham, while a hamstring strain at the pre-event training camp in Dubai meant his final preparations for Doha were less than perfect, too.

When it came to the early rounds on the Khalifa Stadium track, Wightman was outshone by his fellow Brits Neil Gourley and Josh Kerr and he even had to endure a nervous qualifying wait as all three ultimately made their way to the final.

Two years ago, such a scenario may have caused more than a touch of anxiety - the Edinburgh AC athlete is still frustrated with himself that he didn’t progress beyond the semifinal stage of London 2017 – but not this time.

As Timothy Cheruiyot left the world in his wake when it came to the final in Qatar, Wightman kept his composure and came agonisingly close to a podium finish with fifth place in a time of 3:31.87 which broke the Scottish record. He had peaked right when he most needed to.