In April 2018, he won his first major senior medal, with bronze for the 1500 m at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, where he also finished fourth in the 800 m.[5] In June, he set a Scottish record for the 1000 m with a time of 2:16.27 at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm, breaking the previous record which had stood since 1984.[8] Wightman took bronze in the 1500 m at the Berlin European Athletics Championships in August.[5] That year he became the first Briton to run below 1:45 in the 800 m and 3:35 in the 1500 m since Peter Elliott in 1991.[9]
Wightman won the gold medal in the 1500 m event at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon in July with a personal best and world-leading time of 3:29.23, beating reigning Olympic champion and European record holder Jakob Ingebrigtsen (3:29.47). It was the first British world 1500 m title since Steve Cram in 1983, the first Scottish world title on the track since Liz McColgan's 10,000 m gold in 1991, and ended a streak of seven consecutive golds in the event from Kenya-born runners. The mark moved him to third on the UK all-time list. His father, Geoff Wightman, former marathoner and long-time media commentator, called the race as in-stadium commentator.[11][12][4]
Wightman continued his good form in August by taking a bronze in his specialist event at the Commonwealth Games Birmingham 2022, and a silver for the 800 m at the European Championships held in Munich.[5][13]
In September, he broke the 1:44-barrier in the 800 m for the first time, improving Tom McKean’s 33-year-old Scottish record of 1:43.88 in his fifth overall Diamond League victory with a time of 1:43.65 in Brussels.[14] He capped his breakthrough season on the road a few days later, winning for the third time the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York (he also won in 2018 and 2021).[15]
Going into the 2023 season, Wightman had high hopes of defending his 1500 m title at the World Championships in Budapest. However in January, after sustaining a freak foot injury during a gym session in South Africa, he was forced to spend 5 weeks in a boot, while cross-training to remain in good shape.
He returned to running that spring, aiming to be ready for Budapest, being able to skip qualification given his status as the reigning world champion. However after numerous achilles, shin, and hamstring issues, he decided to play it safe and focus on the 2024 Olympic year, withdrawing from the World Championships.[18] In his absence, his childhood schoolmate and club colleague, Josh Kerr, succeeded him as world champion in the 1500 metres.
2024: More injuries
After missing the British Championships due to a calf injury, Wightman was selected to represent Great Britain in the 800 metres at the Paris Olympics.[19][20][21]
He pulled out just days before he was scheduled to race because of a hamstring injury.[22][23]
