Jake Wightman reveals how Tommy Fury documentary helped him to silver medal

By Charlie Bennett in Tokyo

Jake Wightman revealed Tommy Fury’s new BBC documentary inspired him to chase his own destiny after bagging 1500m World Athletics Championships silver.

The Scotsman cashed in on a calf injury to teammate Josh Kerr and clinched Britain’s first medal in a thrilling final in Tokyo.

Kerr was forced to pull up with 600m to go but bravely hobbled across the line, almost a minute behind the leaders.

Wightman was beaten to the line by Portugal’s Isaac Nader by just two hundredths of a second but said his podium place was a reward for not giving up through two years of injury hell.

The 31-year-old won this title three years ago but a stress fracture in his foot ruled him out for 18 months, before a hamstring strain cost him his Olympic dream last summer.

Fit and firing, he made the final here and said the words of Fury’s boxing coach John Fury in TV show The Good. The Bad. The Fury revved him up.

“I watched Tommy Fury’s documentary on BBC and it was his dad, John Fury, Tyson's coach,” he said.

“He said your destiny is set in stone. You can do everything to change it and everyone else can do everything to change it, but what's going to happen, that'll be.

“I watched that and I was like, you know what, tonight, it's meant to be and if I'm meant to win it, I'm meant to get a medal, then that's what's going to happen.

“I came into that just very content with whatever will be, will be. And I feel like this is more than an adequate reward for me.”

Wightman stayed close to the front throughout, looking comfortable sitting on the shoulders of those ahead.

He made his move on the final lap, taking the lead on the back straight, and powered around the final bend with his rivals clinging on to his coattails.

By that point, Kerr’s bid to become just the third British athlete to defend his title had long gone.

He was stuck towards the back and then fell away from his rivals, notably limping. He stopped briefly, before finishing.

In the final 100m, Wightman looked set to win but Nader surged down the outside and the two of them crossed neck-and-neck.

“That's what was kept me going,” he added.

“I felt like I still had something like this in me. All I knew today was I was going to run to try and win, and whether that got me to win, whether that got me second, third, however high up, I'd just be happy that I walked away with it.

“When you come that close to winning it, you can't help but be a little bit ‘what if I'd have tried a bit more? But I left everything out there.

“Honestly, it's been a very, very bleak couple of years for me. I think a lot of times I doubt myself, even though I get back to this level.”

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