A pair of 800s
The races of the second day, without question, were the 800s. Jake Wightman won in 1:45.40 from Ben Pattison (1:45.49). Pattison followed his usual pattern of sitting near the back and then making a late surge for the lead. This time, he left it too late, or Wightman was too strong for him. Pattison is from England; Wightman runs for Scotland. Thus, they will be teammates for Britain in the European Championships but opponents in the Commonwealth Games, where there are separate England and Scotland teams. The race also gave us the familiar, if quaint, situation of Jake running and dad Geoff doing the stadium commentary. We all remember Oregon 2022, but of course, now Geoff is just the commentator, no longer the coach.
Jake Wightman’s comment on the race was: “It was always going to be a battle going down the home straight. I am just trying to get that feeling of staying relaxed and running my own race, and I feel like I did that better today. I go into a championship knowing that I can run the best out of myself at a championship. If I can get close to 100% of myself in a race and I don’t make a mistake, I hope that makes me dangerous. I feel like today I was close to that; it’s just knowing and having the confidence that I can run well when it matters. It’s a big tool to have; I’ve had it from a young age. When you get older and continue to develop the skills to pull it off, you really see the results”.
Winning the 800 confirms Jake’s selection for GB in the event at The European Championships – or does it? Jake, who in 2022 ran the 1500 at Worlds and the 800 at the Commonwealth Games, hinted that he might do the same this year, with two championships quite close together. He said: “I’m unsure if I am going for the 800m or 1500m (at the Europeans), so I want to give myself the option by running well in the 800m”.
He also made an interesting reflective comment: “It’s a cool sport. 2022 really changed my mentality towards athletics for better and worse. It made me believe I can win anything, but on the flip side, it sets the bar high, and I always want to win”.
Ben Pattison only runs 800 and was a World Championship medalist. Second place guarantees him a place in the GB team for the Europeans and, I am sure, a place in the Commonwealths if he wants it. Pattison is always very honest in his self-assessment: “I think I did my best to race the worst race possible. I am sure my coach will have a lot to say. The two main mistakes for me were that at the 200m mark, I hit the brakes and let the race get away from me. With 150m to go, Jake (Wightman) was on my inside, and I probably should have pushed on and blocked him in a bit, but I let him out, and if you let someone like Jake out in front of you with not long to go, the result is only going to go one way. Overall, it was ok, but I am pretty gutted to not take the win”.
The women’s race was superlative but not competitive. I think they forgot to tell Georgia Hunter-Bell that she only needed to win the race (or come second) to confirm her selection, so she went out and broke the championship record with a 1:55.93. She summed up her performance: “I was trying all the way to the line, so I am really happy. I wanted to have a really hard run and see where I am at. It was a bit of an exercise in finding answers to some questions, and I am really pleased with what I produced. It’s really nice to get a Championship record and win another UK title. I was visualizing it before I came out here. I have some great memories here, so I can’t wait to be back here for the Europeans in a couple of months”. Whether she will be back in Birmingham for the 800, 1500, or both is another question.
Georgia is now 32, but with that break from running – only returning in 2024 – her legs may feel fresher. However, that may be; she is in the form of her life and performing magnificently.
Keely Hodgkinson had opted to run the 400 at the Champs, running 51.62 and making the final, but then withdrew, saying: “I wasn’t feeling 100% standing on the start line, so I made the tough decision to step away and not race. I didn’t want to risk anything ahead of this summer”.
