Britain’s Jake Wightman won’t defend 1,500m world title due to injury
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Britain's Jake Wightman had fractured his foot while training in South Africa.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON – Jake Wightman will not defend his 1,500m title at August’s world championships due to a foot injury sustained during a training camp earlier in 2023, the Briton said on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old was a surprise winner in Eugene, Oregon in 2022 when he beat Olympic champion and favourite Jakob Ingebrigtsen, with his father Geoff calling him home as the stadium announcer.
Wightman fractured his foot while training in South Africa and said he had “run out of time” to return to full fitness for the meet, scheduled for Aug 19 to 27 in Budapest, Hungary.
“As a result of my injury I sustained in February, I’ve had to deal with several more setbacks as I prepared to race this summer,” he wrote on Instagram.
“This means I’m sadly going to be unable to compete at Worlds which has been really gutting to come to terms with.”
He also won the 1,500m bronze at the Commonwealth Games and 800m silver at the European championships.
He has not raced this season but was guaranteed a place at the world championships as defending champion but decided not to run, choosing to focus on the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
“My focus has to be on getting my body rested and ready for 2024, to ensure I’ll be back performing at my best,” he added.
“There are some risks I could’ve taken to be on that Budapest start line, however the potential to jeopardise my Olympic year makes this the obvious decision.
“I’m currently taking some down time before starting my rehab, ready to be back running safely and pain-free by the end of August.”
Meanwhile, hurdler Devon Allen is ready to turn Eugene pain into pride at the United States nationals this week, a year after a thousandth of a second cost him the chance of world championship glory.
A source of fascination in the United States, partly due to being a wide receiver in the practice squad for Super Bowl runners-up Philadelphia Eagles, Allen was expected to contend for the 110m hurdles world title but was disqualified for a false start.
“I try to forget about it,” the 28-year-old said, after he posted the fourth-fastest time of the year to finish second at the NYC Grand Prix in 13.04 seconds in June.
“It’s like when you have a really bad, traumatic experience you, like, black out. I don’t even remember what happened – what are you talking about?”
The two-time Olympian is third on the all-time list after running 12.84sec in 2022. The US nationals start on Thursday in Eugene.
REUTERS
