Jake Wightman: Edinburgh athlete aiming to break 32-year-old Scottish indoor record in Birmingham
After watching Josh Kerr come up short in his recent attempt in New York, Wightman wants to be the one to knock off Peter Elliot’s indoor 1500 metres mark of 3:34.48 set almost 32 years ago.
The 27-year-old from Edinburgh sits second in the UK all-time rankings with a 2021 best which was just 0.28 seconds off the past master’s blistering effort.
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Hide AdTwo nights ago, Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen smashed the world record in Lieven, clocking 3:30.60.
But with fellow Scot Neil Gourley arriving fresh from an impressive victory in New York last weekend, Wightman believes the record is on borrowed time.
“Last year, I was close enough for them to realise that it's going to go at some point to somebody,” he said. “It's not a record any more that people can't run. You saw Neil last week had to run a fair bit on his own and came close. Josh has come close.
“The main thing for me is the quality of the race. If you're going to go in trying to win, you’ll end up probably running the record.”
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Hide AdGuy Learmonth takes on the men's 800m, Jemma Reekie runs the women’s 1000m, training partner Erin Wallace goes in the 1500m while in-form Fifer Jenny Selman takes on Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson over 800m.
But with most of the leading Brits, including Wightman, set to skip next weekend’s British indoor championships and the world indoors in Belgrade, the Grand Prix is a last chance to lay down a marker ahead of July’s world championships in Oregon.
It’s also a chance for Wightman to send a message to the absent Kerr that the Olympic medallist won’t have it all his own way.
“You still want to be at least the first Brit just because of the way Josh has done it in the US,” Wightman said. “Just because he's got that dominance.”