From disbelief to a swagger in what appeared to be his weaker event, Jake Wightman now stands tall following his stunning upset in Eugene, Oregon, to become world champion. From dethroning the formidable Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen at 1500m, the Briton is now hunting supremacy in the prestigious Diamond League finale down at 800m. Versatility has been the strategy since the turn of the year; carefully devised alongside his father and stadium announcer Geoff. And now the results are there to bolster an athlete brimming with ambition after adding a European silver and Commonwealth bronze.
Not only does Wightman have the hardware, he now has a signature move to entertain those watching. That early kick, sometimes even before the final bend, is an intimidating tactic for his rivals to digest. It has always been the most potent part of his 1500m game, but Wightman repeated the trick in the Brussels Diamond League to good effect on Friday. Emmanuel Korir, the Olympic and world 800m champion, was expected to close in during the final stages of the two-lap contest but instead the Kenyan was left flailing in the dust as Wightman stormed home with a shiny new PB in 1:43.65.
