Jake Wightman will miss his 1500m title defence at the World Championships due to injury but is focused on Olympics
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Published 05/07/2023 at 09:36 GMT
Wightman suffered a stress fracture to his foot during a gym training session in South Africa in January. He is still not ready to compete, meaning he will miss the chance to defend his 1500m title at the World Championships in Budapest. He took a shock victory last year, beating Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen to the finish line.
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Jake Wightman will not defend his 1500m at the World Championships in August due to injury.
He suffered a stress fracture of his foot during a gym session at the start of this year and says he has “run out of time” to make it back to fitness in time to compete in Budapest.
The Scottish athlete took a shock victory in the event in Eugene a year ago as he burst past Jakob Ingebrigtsen with 200m remaining before holding off the Olympic champion to win gold.
Despite having not raced this season, Wightman was guaranteed a place at the World Championships as a defending champion but he has chosen not to take part.
Sharing the news on Instagram, Wightman said: “As a result of my injury, I’ve had to deal with several more set backs as I prepared to race this summer.
“I’ve always felt as though time has been on my side to overcome my problems fully, however it has finally run out. This means I’m sadly going to be unable to compete at Worlds which has been really gutting to come to terms with.”
However, with the Olympic Games taking place next year in Paris, Wightman knows he has to carefully plan his return and not rush back into action.
He added: “Although I’m very disappointed not be able to try and defend my title, my focus has to be on getting my body rested and ready for 2024, to ensure I’ll be back performing at my best.
"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.
"Big thanks to all my team and British Athletics who have worked really hard to try and give me every chance of competing. I’ll see you back on the start line soon.”
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