Shock victory as Jake Wightman claims World Championships gold

Headset on and heart beating out of his chest, Hayward Field commentator Geoff Wightman knew he had a job to do, but composure was in short supply. As reasons go, his was about as good as you could possibly get.

“I have to explain why the stadium camera has just focused on me,” he somehow managed to blurt out, as his face filled the screen moments after the men’s 1,500 metres final. “That’s my son, I coach him and he’s the world champion.”

Lying about 50m below him on the Eugene track, in a similar state of disbelief, was Jake Wightman, who had just produced the race of his life to win World Championships gold.

Jake has long been an excellent athlete: an Olympic finalist, a world finalist, a European and Commonwealth bronze medallist. But it will take something extraordinary this week for there to be a bigger shock victory than the one he had just achieved. In truth, it is difficult to think of a more surprising British world triumph in recent history.

So unexpected was it that the medal ceremony had to be brought forward because Jake’s flight home was due to depart before his podium moment was originally due to take place the following day.

“It’s not going to sink in for about a year, I don’t think,” said Jake immediately after.

His win came courtesy of the perfect race. For 1,200 of the 1,500m he had to run, he simply let all of his more fancied rivals burn themselves out.

First Kenya’s Abel Kipsang, who had not lost a race all season, fell away after leading for the first two laps. Then his compatriot, world champion Timothy Cheruiyot, did likewise.

With Britain’s Olympic bronze medallist Josh Kerr failing to ever muscle his way into proceedings and eventually finishing fifth, only one rival remained for Jake to pass.