Jake Wightman could become Britain’s “most successful” middle distance runner ever, former Olympic champion Lord Coe says.
The Scot plans to compete in this summer’s Commonwealth Games and at the European Championships before defending his world title in 2023.
“This is potentially a real purple patch for him because of the way the calendar is now,” Lord Coe said.
“He is defending that [gold medal] next year and then, hopefully, be in great shape for the Olympics a year later.
“People go ‘two years’ but it’s not two years. That’s one year and three months of intense training and all the other stuff. It’s no time at all.
“If he can log that, he could technically end up as the most successful British middle distance runner we have ever had.”
Wightman became the first British man to win the world 1500m title since Steve Cram in 1983.
World Athletics President Lord Coe, who won 1500m Olympic gold and 800m silver at both the 1980 and 1984 Games, also revealed that he has been a source of advice for Wightman during his career, and therefore knows the 28-year-old and what he is capable of.
“I’m not going to portray myself as his coach or anything like that but we chat and have for a long time, for four or five years,” he said.
“Interestingly we’ve had lengthy conversations over the last couple of years about whether he doubles up [with the 800m and 1500m] or not. He does need to do the 800m training and he’s clearly done that.”
