Wightman expects big things at Paris Olympics amid Team GB 'golden era'

By Sports Desk July 24, 2024

Jake Wightman believes Team GB athletics are enjoying a 'golden era' and could record one of their best medal hauls at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Wightman won 1,500m gold at the 2022 World Championships, the first global gold won by a Brit in a middle-distance event since Sebastian Coe's 1,500m gold at the 1984 Olympics. 

The Scot has been tipped to compete for a medal in the French capital, having also taken bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and silver at the European Championships that same year.

With Team GB looking to better their total of five athletics medals from the delayed 2020 Tokyo Games, Wightman thinks an impressive haul could be on the cards.

"I think collectively it should be one of the best games we could have in athletics. I think it's a bit of a golden era at the moment," he told Stats Perform.

"A lot of people are shaping up to give the best performance they'll ever have. Sadly, the state of global athletics is that it's probably in a bit of a golden era as well. 

"Every event has some pretty tough competitors to beat, but if you look at all the British athletes that could medal, then you could end up with a huge tally, not just of medals, but of golds."

Wightman finished 10th in the 1,500m final in Tokyo three years ago, when crowds were limited to fellow athletes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He is excited to soak up a different type of atmosphere this time around, adding: "The fact that the last one was Tokyo meant people were going to be watching it in the early hours, so it probably didn't get the reach from home that it could have. 

"Whereas this one, an hour's difference, there's no excuse for the British population to get behind it and to support our athletes.

"Personally, it's a chance for me to go out there and try and see what I can do. Once you get to a final, who knows what you could do from there. So for me, it's just taking it each day at a time."

Wightman's father Geoff was also an endurance runner, representing England at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland. 

Having moved into television since his retirement, he was also on commentary duties when his son triumphed at the World Championships, a moment Wightman remembers fondly.

"It's pretty unique within sport that your dad is the one that's commentating. He's done it for a very long time," he said.

"For me to win a global title with him on the mic was probably the dream scenario for him. It was a special moment."

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