World 1500m champion Jake Wightman has been nominated for the 2022 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award which takes place on Wednesday 21 December from 18:45.
The 28-year-old became a world champion for the very first time following a superb display in Oregon in July. His brave tactics saw him dominate the contest and leave the Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) in his wake as he became Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s newest world champion.
It was the start of a successful summer for Wightman who returned to the track just a couple of weeks later to win 1500m bronze at the Commonwealth Games.
Competing for Scotland, Wightman once again moved to the front of the field with 250m, but a fast-finishing Ollie Hoare (AUS) and Timothy Cheruiyot (KEN) won gold and silver on the final sprint for the line, and Wightman earned the second Commonwealth bronze of his career.
Not content with two major medals in a season, Wightman stepped down to the 800m distance for the European Championships in August, and he came within a few milliseconds of claiming a second title of the year.
Mariano Garcia (ESP) just pipped him to gold in the final, however, Wightman captured the silver medal and completed his summer season with the full set of medals across the three majors of the year.
To add to his medal winning displays, Wightman set personal bests across the following distances: 800m, 1000m, 1500m, mile (track and road) and 3000m.
His 1500m time [3:29.23], set in that World Athletics Championships final, moved him to third on the UK all-time standings behind only Mo Farah and Josh Kerr. Meanwhile, on his way to winning at the Monaco Diamond League, he lowered his 1000m time to 2:13.88 which saw him move up to third on the UK all-time list behind Seb Coe and Steve Cram.
In one of his final races of the season, he also lowered the long-standing Scottish 800m record on his way to a win at the Brussels Diamond League – his third Wanda Diamond League win of the season. His time of 1:43.65 eclipsed Tom McKean’s mark set at Crystal Palace 33 years ago.
Voting opens during the show on Wednesday evening, and full details will be explained then. Wightman lines up against five other contenders; gymnast Jessica Gadirova, footballer Beth Mead, curling’s Eve Muirhead, cricketer Ben Stokes, snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan.
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