In the first world championships held in the U.S, there have been numerous memorable highlights, but one story has loomed over the grandeur of the events. On the eve of the championships, Sir Mo Farah, the beloved British runner, revealed that he was trafficked to the United Kingdom as a small child in a BBC documentary. The kicker? His name wasn’t actually Mo Farah at all.
When Englishman Jake Wightman beat out Tokyo gold-medalist Jakob Ingebrigtsen for the 1500-meter title Tuesday night in Eugene, no one was more surprised than Wightman himself. With his father announcing in the stadium, he outran the favored Norwegian for the gold in 3:29.23. It was the race of his life, which has only ever been bested by one other Brit: Farah. After his win, Sports Illustrated Weekly asked Wightman if he’d seen the documentary about his fellow countryman. He said he’d actually watched the film in Eugene and that it really moved him.The following transcript is an excerpt from the podcast, Sports Illustrated Weekly. Listen to the full episode on podcast players everywhere.
