IAAF President and former Olympic champion Seb Coe believes the Commonwealth Games bronze medal that Jake Wightman won in Gold Coast earlier this year will be a landmark moment in the 23-year-old’s career.
Wightman’s superb run to finish third in the 1500m at the Games saw him win his first major championships medal of his career -which was presented by Coe - and he has gone from strength to strength since returning from Australia.
After a spell training at altitude in America, Wightman returned to Europe last month, which culminated in him claiming a Scottish record for the first time in his career when he broke Graham Williamson’s 1000m mark after a 34-year wait with a run of 2.16.27 in the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm on Sunday.
And with the British Championships looming at the end of this month, and a top-two finish required for automatic selection for the upcoming European Championships, Coe believes that Wightman’s confidence will be higher than ever before and expects him to produce more impressive performances in the coming months.
“I was very impressed with Jake in Australia,” Coe said.
“I’m sure he has taken great self-belief and confidence from it.
“He’s gone on now and taken a Scottish Record at 1000m and I believe that is his first at any age. So that’s another positive sign.
“Jake really should now be on an upward trajectory and it is exciting to see what he can do.”
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