Jake Wightman: British athlete will not defend world 1500m title in Budapest
- Published
World Athletics: Jake Wightman's dad commentates on gold medal
UK Athletics Championships & World Trials | |
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Venue: Manchester Regional Track Arena Dates: 8-9 July | |
Coverage: Watch live on the BBC Sport website and app or on the BBC iPlayer |
Jake Wightman will not defend his 1500m title at August's World Championships in Budapest after admitting "shortcuts" failed to heal a foot injury.
The Scot burst past Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen and clinched a surprise gold in Eugene a year ago.
However, the 28-year-old suffered a stress fracture in January and has decided not to risk racing this summer with an eye on next year's Olympics.
"I've known for a bit that this was a potential outcome," he told BBC Sport.
"I thought I was pretty much in the clear but I shortcut a lot of corners to get back and my body's kicked up a fuss.
"The injuries I have wouldn't heal if I kept trying to push through so there was probably not going to be a good outcome.
"I would either be badly injured, which would affect Olympic year or I'd be not anywhere near the shape I needed to even get through the rounds to get to a final and try and defend my title."
Wightman, a Commonwealth 1500m bronze and European 800m silver medallist last year, is yet to race this season.
He would have been guaranteed a place in Budapest despite missing this weekend's UK Championships, which act as trials for the worlds.
"Having won worlds last year, the only thing to do is win Olympic gold," he said. "It's potentially my last Olympics so I need to make sure I do everything I possibly can to not have the season that I've had.
"I've been battling for so long to be able to try and get my body in one piece so I can start at 100% to make sure that I can keep it there and go into Paris running my best."