Due to a hamstring injury, British 800m medal contender Jake Wightman has withdrew from the Olympics in Paris. Elliot Giles, the 30-year-old world champion in the 1500 meters in 2022, has taken his spot. Wightman has now missed three significant events due to injuries, despite winning silver in the 800m at the 2022 European Championships.
British 800m medal hope Jake Wightman has withdrawn from the Paris Olympics because of a hamstring injury.
The 30-year-old, 1500m world champion in 2022, has been replaced by Elliot Giles.
Wightman won 800m silver at the 2022 European Championships but has since missed three big events because of injury.
A foot problem prevented him from defending his world title in Budapest in 2023, and he missed the UK Championships in June this year because of a calf issue.
Wightman said before the Olympics that injuries would not affect his ability to win a medal.
“You don’t lose the qualities you had,” he said. “If you’re not out there performing and showing what qualities you have, people forget about it.
“It’s a nicer thing for me to be able to come in under the radar and not have this pressure of everyone expecting me to go out and win or be the best in the world.”
Giles, 30, joins Max Burgin and Ben Pattison as Britain’s representatives in the 800m heats on Wednesday.
Jake Wightman is forced to pull out of Paris 2024 due to hamstring injury.
Former world 1500m champion Jake Wightman has been forced to withdraw from Paris 2024 due to a hamstring injury.
It is a particularly gutting blow for the 30-year-old middle-distance runner, who was set to compete in the 800m in Paris after bouncing back from a foot injury in January 2023 with subsequent series of setbacks keeping him out of action for 13 months.
The news was confirmed by Team GB in a post on X and confirmed by British Athletics, both statements naming Elliot Giles as a late athlete replacement in the 800m, which begins with round one on August 7.
The post read: “Jake Wightman has been forced to withdraw from Paris 2024 due to a hamstring injury.
“Elliot Giles has been called up as a late athlete replacement and will race in the men’s 800m at his third Games.”
Wightman has previously hinted at Paris 2024 being his last Olympics.
The Nottingham-born, Linlithgow athlete finished 10th in the 1500m three summers ago at the postponed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
A year later, he charged to a triumphant world title at the same distance in Eugene, beating Norwegian favourite Jakob Ingebrigtsen by 24 milliseconds.
He would add European silver and a Commonwealth Games 1500m bronze that same summer before a combination of foot, shin and hamstring injuries forced him off the track for over a year.
That included the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, where compatriot Josh Kerr – who will represent Great Britain in the 1500m these Olympics alongside Neil Gourley and George Mills – took the title from Wightman.
Wightman was forced to withdraw from last month’s British championships, which also served as Olympic trials, with a calf issue, forcing his inclusion on Team GB in to the selector’s hands, and was thrilled when they handed him a vote of confidence with a discretionary pick for the shorter distance.
Earlier this month, he said: “There was no way I did not want to be at those trials because the consequences were horrific, potentially,” said 29-year-old Wightman, who claimed the world 1500m title in Eugene two years ago, but could not defend it after a foot injury in January 2023 and a subsequent series of setbacks forced him out of action for 13 months.
“I feel very lucky to gave been given a lifeline still, because that could have easily been season’s done. I would have always wanted to double (in the 800m and 1500m) if I could have, but I’m just glad to be able to go over one of them and show that I can.
“Watching Tokyo, I watched that 800m (Olympic) final, I thought, ‘I would have loved to be in that final’ because I felt like I could have had a good chance, but now I’ve got to put my money where my mouth is and see if I can actually do that.”
Wightman said that, though he was disappointed to miss out on the 1500m, he was looking forward to proving himself at the shorter distance.
He said: “I think if I was to go and run really well over 800 I would forget about the 1500m pretty quickly.
“And the way I’m looking at it is it kind of puts more respect on my career.
“I remember somebody said once, it was a British athlete when we were doing Diamond League 800 (a few years ago), they were saying ‘I don’t like losing to other Brits, but I don’t mind losing to Jake because he is a 1500m runner.
“I pride myself on being able to run an 800 as well.”
It now remains to be seen if an end to Wightman’s Olympic career will accompany his heart-breaking news.
Earlier this month, he said: “Beyond this year I don’t know how long I’ll go. Part of it is whether it’s a sustainable lifestyle for me.
“It’s tough and it’s a good career because I’m doing something I love and enjoy, but I’m also earning money from it I didn’t expect to earn.
“Everything I’m doing beyond this year is probably a bonus on top. Whether that’s one year, two years, I just can’t see myself going for another four years and being 34.
“I’m not saying definitely, but it’s probably likely.”
