It was announced today that 2022 World 1500m Champion Jake Wightman has withdrawn from the Paris Olympics due to a hamstring injury. He was set to compete in the 800m for Team Great Britain. Elliot Giles will take his place.
In a post to Instagram, Geoff Wightman, Jake’s father and coach, stated, “Unfortunately the tightness in his right hamstring that he felt in the closing stages of the final rep [of a training session] was scanned yesterday and revealed a tear. He is out of Paris 24.”
Wightman has been hampered with injury the past two seasons, and due to what he called “a little calf problem” was unable to participate in the British Olympic Trials, though was granted an exemption and was selected for the team for the 800m.
At the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, Wightman raced to an incredible finish, earning the gold medal after kicking past Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the final 200m and holding on to the finish line.
Since that time, he has dealt with numerous injuries. During the 2023 season, he sustained a foot injury in January which left him in a boot for five weeks. Once back to training, he continued to have achilles, shin, and hamstring issues, and eventually withdrew from the 2023 World Championships. Now his latest spate of bodily woes are causing his withdrawal from the Paris Olympics.
The preliminary rounds of the men’s 800m at the Olympics are scheduled for Wednesday, August 7.
WATCH: Wightman snatches 1500 gold from Ingebrigtsen at Worlds in final lap
