Jake Wightman won’t defend 1500 metres title at World Championships next month due to foot injury

Jake Wightman will not defend his 1500metres title at the World Championships in Budapest next month due to an ongoing foot injury.

The 28-year-old picked up the problem jumping over hurdles on a training camp in South Africa in January and has not competed outdoors this year.

Wightman, guaranteed a place in Budapest by his shock gold medal in Eugene last year, had entered the 800m at the UK Athletics Championships in Manchester this weekend. 

But Mail Sport understands he will now miss the rest of the season to give his foot time to properly heal ahead of next summer’s Olympics in Paris.

Wightman’s absence at the World Championships is a blow for Great Britain, as he won the team’s only gold at last year’s event.

Jake Wightman will not be able to defend his 1500metres world title next month in Budapest

The 28-year-old will now miss the rest of the season to give his foot time to properly heal 

Wightman is hoping the time off will allow him to run at the Olympics in Paris next summer

Wightman confirmed on Instagram that he would miss the World Championships.

‘As a result of my injury I sustained in February, I’ve had to deal with several more set backs as I prepared to race this summer,’ he wrote.

‘I’ve always felt as though time has been on my side to overcome my problems fully, however it has finally run out.

‘This means I’m sadly going to be unable to compete at Worlds which has been really gutting to come to terms with.

‘Although I’m very disappointed not be able to try and defend my title, my focus has to be on getting my body rested and ready for 2024, to ensure I’ll be back performing at my best.

‘The are some risks I could’ve taken to be on that Budapest start line, however the potential to jeopardise my Olympic year makes this the obvious decision.

‘I’m currently taking some down time before starting my rehab, ready to be back running safely and pain free by the end of August.

‘Big thanks to all my team and British Athletics who have worked really hard to try and give me every chance of competing.

‘I’ll see you back on the start line soon.’

Wightman’s first major global medal came in thrilling fashion, as he burst past Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen with 200m left to win with a personal best of 3min 29.23sec. 

The victory was made even more memorable by the fact his dad and coach Geoff was the stadium announcer and commentating for the crowd.

Nottingham-born Scotland runner Wightman followed his success in Eugene with a 1500m bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games and an 800m silver at the European Championships.

Explaining how he picked up his injury, he said: ‘It was just an accident. I was doing these hurdle hops and I bailed on one. 

In doing so, I put one foot out to stop myself and all my weight went on it and I just rolled it.’