World Athletics Championships live: Updates, times and results as Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman have hearts broken in dramatic 1500m final – UK Times

The 2022 world champion has battled injuries in recent years and left his father and coach Geoff Wightman to change his training set-up in a bid to return to the pinnacle of the sport.

And the Briton took the lead over favourite Niels Laros, of the Netherlands, with 200m remaining, only for Portuguese athlete Isaac Nader to pip him on the line by two hundredths of a second in 3mins 34.10secs.

Jake Wightman has a long chat with BBC Sport. Did he ever think he’d come back to the top of the sport? “That’s what’s kept me going, I felt like I still had something like this in me. All I knew was I was going to try to win today and whatever happened, I would be happy. When you come that close to winning it, you can’t help but be a bit ‘what if I tried a bit more’, but I left everything out there. Honestly it’s been a very, very bleak couple of years for me. A lot of times I doubted myself, making this team was the main thing.

“I made some huge changes to my life, my fiance Georgie relocated all the way from London to Manchester to be close to therapy, I got a new coach and coaching setup, they’re big changes that have had a big impact. It took a while this season to believe that those were the right decisions.

“I’m a big believer that you kind of get what you put in at some point, when I kept getting kicked when I was down I kept thinking karma was going to come back and give me a bit of luck. I’m just very, very happy that I managed to prove that all the persistence and sticking with it has been worth it.

“I just knew through the rounds I felt like I had another gear. I nearly got there! But for me, this is a gold, getting on the start line in a championships final.”

The BBC have reported that Kerr’s injury is so severe he couldn’t walk up the stairs to speak to the media.

Greg Rutherford says on BBC comms: “Everybody suffers with injuries in their careers. Jake Wightman shows that you can come back from it and the good guys do still win medals.

“For anybody young watching this suffering with something difficult, it shows that you can push through.”

Steve Cram and Paula Radcliffe have a chat about how great Jake Wightman’s ‘racing brain’ is. Just a shame that race was comparatively slow and ended up being a sprinter’s race.

Nader was in fifth going into the final straight but just powered down it.

Neil Gourley tells BBC Sport: “That was a really tough field to be in. I had bigger goals in it.

“I wasn’t in a terrible spot with 300 metres to go. Normally I can change gears but today I felt tired. I just did not have it.

“I have exceeded expectations and had my best form when it counted. Given where I was a few weeks ago, I am proud of where I have ended up.”

Jake Wightman takes some photos with fans, smiling and celebrating, and fortunately doesn’t seem too disappointed with that silver medal as he heads off to hug friends and family. After a difficult couple of years with injuries a world medal is so brilliantly deserved.

10th for Neil Gourley, by the way.

What an incredibly dramatic race. Gutting for Jake Wightman, what a phenomenal race, to be just pipped on the line. He read that race really well, just didn’t quite have enough.

Josh Kerr limps home last.

Oh my goodness. That was a nail-biter, Wightman just pipped on the line.

Jake Wightman was getting tight at the end and Isaac Nader of Portugal nicks it on the line, in 3:34.10!

Wightman takes silver in 3:34.12. Two hundredths of a second between gold and silver. Reynold Cheruiyot takes bronze in 3:34.25.