Brits in Monaco
There were several British athletes in action in Monaco. Jake Wightman broke his own Scottish record for 1000m, finishing second in 2:12.77 to Emmanuel Wanyonyi.
Wightman said afterward: “I wanted to go really, really quick and I knew Wanyonyi would be tough over 1K, but I did not know how it would be in the last 200m. I hoped I could maybe get my finish strong. I was nearly there, nearly there. I am in a good spot, one of my best runs I probably had this year. So I am glad. This was just a long 800, so I wanted to go through quickly and try and hang on for as long as I could. I wish I could have surprised Wanyonyi, but it is probably the best 1000m you have ever had, so it was hard”.
Here’s Stuart Weir’s interview, on YouTube, for Scottish Athletics, with Jake Wightman after his superb 1000 meters: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UdE1Rts_TuA?feature=share
Ben Pattison (2:14.11) was fifth in the same race, recording a PR. He described the race as “A big step in the right direction.” I asked him, “How do you approach a 1000?” He replied with a big smile that he didn’t really know! He said that other athletes had told him “it’s not like an 800 where you just hold on longer, which was not what I wanted to hear!” He said that he did run 1000 in training but a bit slower than Wanyonyi! Overall, he was happy with where he was, with the Commonwealth Games and European Championships to come this summer.
Jack Kimani, second in the GB Championships high jump last month, was second in Monaco in 2:30 – one centimeter below his PR. It was his first ever Diamond League, and he beat Barshim, Tamberi and Harrison! His excitement comes through in his post-race comments:
“It was my Diamond League debut, and honestly that was the best meet I have been to my entire life. I mean it’s only a debut I am not gonna get too gazzed about it but hopefully I can do so many more of these. This is definitely something I wanna do; I wanna keep growing in the sport and improving. It was a good start. Honestly, I did expect to jump that high, because I felt very good before the meet. It didn’t start as planned, but sometimes that happens, and it is about how you respond. I don’t know yet if I am gonna stay in the NCAA system; my family and I are gonna make the decision after my season is finished. Because I still have the Commonwealth Games and the European Championships. The crowd is a lot bigger, but I am a kind of person who likes that stuff, so that’s just amazing for me. I want to compete as well as I can at those champs; it’s a great opportunity, and I am looking forward to representing my country. And I just want to have fun, because that’s what the sport is about, so we see how things will go”.
Alex Yee, Olympic triathlon champion in 2024, competed in the 5000m, finishing 12th in 13:27.79. My first question to him was “What are you going here?” and his reply was “Good question!” I’m here to experience the unknown, put myself in the uncomfortable zone, out of my comfort zone. I got found out very quick, probably about 2K. I struggled to get around. Yeah, that’s the level it is here. The way I’ve been running, I thought I could have got pretty close to 30 minutes, but today wasn’t that day. It’s fine, but it’s a long way home at 2.5K.
He assured me he had no plans to switch from triathlon to track. “No, no, this is all about learning. It’s all about doing something different. This is about just experience”.
Here’s Stuart Weir’s interview with Alex Yee from Monaco mixed zone, for our friends at Athletics Weekly!
“It’s learning the hard way and that’s how I like to be.”
Olympic individual triathlon champion Alex Yee talks through his first Diamond League race since London in 2019 🗣️
He clocked 13:27.29 in the 5000m in Monaco 🇲🇨
🎙️ @stuartweir pic.twitter.com/Zwodqx4oUT
— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) July 10, 2026
Matt Hudson-Smith was fourth in the 400 in 44.22.
