Jake Wightman of England didn’t want to regret leaving the boy 1,500 meters behind when he threw himself into the decorated field. He was so familiar with that feeling that he wasn’t trying to wake it up again.
So, with 200 meters remaining, Wightman swung to the right shoulder of current Olympic champion Jacob Ingebrigsen of Norway, past him and set the stage for a desperate sprint in Hayward Field. After Wightman first crossed the line, he grabbed his head incredibly.
“How often do you become a world champion?” He asked. “It hasn’t sunk yet.”
The 28-year-old Wightman, who won the championship at 3: 29.23, arrived at the championship with the second fastest time in the world this season, but he has been named to current Olympic champions Ingebrigzen and Timothy Cheryl Yacht. On the other hand, he was a weak person. Of Kenya who wanted to protect his world title.
21-year-old Ingebrigzen won the silver medal and Spain’s Mohammed Katil won the bronze medal. Cherui Yacht finished in 6th place.
Ingebrigzen, who is looking to 5,000 meters when the qualifying heat starts on Thursday, said he should have increased his pace at a pace of 500 meters and expressed dissatisfaction with the tactics.
“That’s the mistake I made,” said Ingebrigzen. “If I had kept pace a little faster from that point on, no one would have challenged me outside.”
He added: “Of course, I’m very disappointed. The main reason is that I’m better than silver. It’s embarrassing. Not only so good, but so bad.. “
For Wightman, the race offered some reimbursement. At the Tokyo Olympics last summer, he finished 10th in the 1,500-meter final. As a result, he has been plagued for months.
“I didn’t really explain how I wanted to run and how I believed I could run,” he said.
At Eugene, he sought to save more energy in the two qualifying rounds so that he could give more in the finals. When he got there, he desperately wanted to be able to strike in the other half lap.
“And I thought I’d try it, just like screwing this in,” he said. “And if I ended up in 4th place or something, at least I tried to win it.”
For Wightman, it was a family problem. His father, Jeff, was calling the race as a stadium announcer.
“Jake Wightman has just raced in his life,” Jeff told the crowd. “My voice has disappeared.”
About 30 seconds later, Jeff appeared on one of the stadium’s video boards.
“I have to tell you why the camera is with me,” he said. “It’s my son. I teach him. And he’s a world champion.”
Jake Wightman said he was hardly surprised that his father remained calm.
“He may sometimes be like a robot riding a microphone,” he said. “When someone is making as much effort as my dad, I hope he can share this equally.”
Wightman received two Olympic gold medals at an event in the United Kingdom from Sebastian Coe, the gold medalist of the Olympic Games and the chairman of the World Athletics Authority. Kor gave him an enthusiastic hug.
Wightman looked back on everything he had sacrificed for the sport. All the social opportunities he inherited, all the fun with his friends in his early twenties.
“When I’m retired, fat, and enjoying my life a bit, I’m very proud to look back and do everything I can,” he said. And it’s all worth it. “
