Jake Wightman’s mum flew home revealing exactly how much her son’s world title meant to husband Geoff.
Father, coach and stadium commentator Geoff kept his emotions in check to call home Britain’s first 1500m gold medallist as impartiality is part of his job spec. But wife Susan, herself a former athlete, said Jake’s sensational win had meant the absolute world to his old man.
“Geoff keeps his thoughts close to his heart,” she said. “Sometimes the combination of father and son and coach and athlete is quite a strange one. “In a way it is quite a different relationship to just father and son. Geoff can be slightly black and white at times. He doesn’t discuss emotions that easily with Jake as an athlete.
“But to have the opportunity to coach his son means more to him than he’s even probably going to show.
“I could instantly tell when he was announcing the 400 men’s hurdles after Jake won that his voice had completely changed. That he was just ecstatic.”
For her part, Susan is keen that Jake’s identical twin Sam now gets his chance to shine on stages of a different sort.
“Like Sam I am an identical twin and I was always the one behind,” she said. “My sister was more successful. It was hard, always to be the other one.
“Sam has a special relationship with Jake. And because he’s not an athlete himself - although he is quite a good runner, he’s an actor - he’s so proud of him.
“As a mother the one thing I’d now very much like to see is Sam having his moment. I would love to go to a theatre in London and see him on the stage.”
