He is the first Briton to win gold since Steve Cram
Jake Wightman (Nottinham, aged 28) shone in one of the biggest surprises of the World Cup, becoming the new 1500m world champion and becoming the first Briton to win gold since Steve Cram in 1983. Cram himself praised the “courage” of the Brit and is pleased to be relieved, after that glorious time for the British 1,500 in which Coe was two-time Olympic champion in 1980 and 84 and Steve Ovett in Moscow ’80, among many other successes.
But the most striking thing about Wigthman’s triumph was in the stands. When the British team celebrated the title in Eugene, Hayward Field’s giant screen was focused on the stadium announcer. “I have to tell them why the camera is on me,” says Geoff Wightman, a former marathon runner and the voice of stadium athletics for decades. “This is my son. I train him. And he is the world champion,” he said excitedly.
For years no one has doubted Wightman’s talent. But only two bronze medals from the Commonwealth Games and the 2018 European Championships. He was always on the list of contenders, but never appeared on the podium, as difficult as in the Tokyo Games, when he arrived after a great season and finished as tenth in the final. “Last year I had such a disappointing year in Tokyo…I don’t think people realize how crushing it was to go in with such high expectations expecting a medal only to finish 10th,” said Wigthman, now happy after his gold, globalist.
Source: La Verdad
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