Commonwealth Games: World champion Jake Wightman leads Scottish men's 1500m charge

Jake Wightman is the newly crowned 1500m champion of the world. But the slate of opportunities that have come his way since his career-defining moment will have to wait.

He has a Commonwealth gold medal to win. Far from seeing this as a come down from the heights of Eugene, the 28-year-old views it as another chance to stamp his authority on the sport.

"It's a big motivation for me being world champ to prove that it wasn't a fluke or anything like that," he says. "I've worked very hard to get to that point and trying to win Commies would certify that and make it even better for me."

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A Scottish clean sweep?

Wightman is one of three Scots in contention in the men's 1500m. Olympic bronze medallist Josh Kerr, who finished fifth in Eugene, will be competitive once again - and all three qualified comfortably for Saturday's final in Birmingham.

Neil Gourlay, who was hit by Covid before the World Championships and failed to make the final, will surely be in better shape a few weeks on having been competitive at the British trials.

The trio are all friends having competed alongside one another on the Scottish athletics scene as juniors. Kerr was a few years behind Wightman at Edinburgh Athletics Club.

"It's a chance to represent Scotland and try to win it for them," Wightman says. "We don't have the same team size as England, who will come away with a lot more medals. So a Scottish win and medal is celebrated so much more.

"Scottish Athletics have been so good to me since I was a kid and it would be a great chance to pay them back and celebrate how good Scotland is within our sport at the moment."

The competition

So what are the chances of medals? The field will be weaker than the world championships, with the three who finished directly behind Wightman in Eugene - Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway and Spanish pair Mohamed Katir and Mario Garcia - not taking part.

But there are still quality athletes involved. Timothy Cheruiyot, the former world champion and silver medallist from the Tokyo Olympics, and his Kenyan compatriot, Abel Kipsang, will provide stiff competition.

Stewart McSweyn of Australia is another capable of quick times. But what does Wightman think?

"Part of the privilege of being the world champion [is] the pressure is higher and people look to me to what I'm going to do," he adds.

"But there are still athletes who have Olympic and world medals, so it's not an easy field. If I'm good enough on the day, hopefully I will be hard to beat."