Jake Wightman, the 2022 World Champion in the 1500m, has been forced to withdraw from the men’s 800m at the Paris Olympics due to a hamstring injury. Elliot Giles has been named as his replacement.
Wightman had been scheduled to compete in the 800m heats on August 7 at Stade de France. However, ongoing injury issues have once again hindered his plans. Last year, a foot injury prevented him from defending his world title in Budapest, where his fellow compatriot Josh Kerr took the gold.
Earlier this season, a calf injury kept Wightman out of the 1500m at the British Olympic trials. He received a discretionary selection for the 800m but is now unable to compete. Giles, who has previously competed in the Rio and Tokyo Olympics, will take his place.
Wightman expressed his frustration at being unable to get his shot at an Olympic medal, especially considering he was a favorite. “It was cruel in a lot of ways,” he said to Athletics Weekly. “You get given that title of being the best in the world on that day, and then not being able to get back to that point in that event [was hard]. I was content enough with it last year because I was like: ‘Whatever, I’ll be there in the mix in Paris over that distance against Josh [Kerr], against Jakob [Ingebrigtsen], against everybody else.’”
Despite his disappointment, Wightman acknowledged the reality of his situation. “I always believed that, and even from Eugene, where I ran okay, I knew that I had a fair bit to go still to be able to be at my best, and then I was not able to show that. I think it’ll be hard when the 1500m final goes off in Paris. It’ll be what I initially thought was going to be the pinnacle of my season, but I’ve had a lot of time to realize that that isn’t the case now. It just is what it is.”
Wightman had aimed to add an Olympic title in Paris to his resume, which already includes World, European, and Commonwealth medals. Now, British hopes in the 800m will be carried by Giles, alongside teammates Ben Pattison and Max Burgin.
Giles, who won a European bronze medal in 2016, narrowly missed out on an Olympic spot due to a fall at the UK Championships in Manchester. He will now make a last-minute journey to France.
