‘I toasted silver by singing Gold in karaoke bar’

Jake Wightman, a British Olympic 1500m silver medalist, “butchered songs” into the morning in a karaoke bar as he “butchered songs” into the early hours of the morning.

The 31-year-old suffered a terrible defeat in Tokyo by Portugal’s Isaac Nader, who was on the verge of clinching his second World Championship.

Wightman’s decision to sack his father Geoff as his coach after missing the 2024 Olympics due to injury, including omitting gold by two hundredths of a second, is seen as vindication for the bold moves he made.

The Scotsman told BBC Sport, “We went to a karaoke bar to celebrate in true Japanese style.”

We finished quite late because we raced very late and then had anti-doping, so I don’t believe we did until late in the evening.

This was exactly like that on steroids when I’ve been to karaoke bars in the UK. Not just microphones, either. A full band set was present. There were piano, bass, guitar, and drums.

“We were butchering songs at the rate of 12.” More of a group sing-song than solos, it was. The first one, by Spandau Ballet, was a nice gesture despite the fact that I received silver.

Wightman, who won the 2022 world championship, was unable to compete in the 2023 World Championships and UK Championships, respectively, due to a hamstring injury to his back and calf issues that prevented him from competing at the same time last year.

Wightman’s final blow came from the disappointment in Paris, and it was the “last roll of the dice” that he rolled.

Within a week of the Olympics, he continued, “I literally believed that my body was telling me that I had given everything I could to do.”

So I moved my fiancee and myself from London to Manchester, which was a big deal because our friend group was located there for the duration of my life.

“And then in February, I made the decision to leave my father as my coach, which is a much bigger deal because he has been my coach since I was 15 years old.

They were choices I hoped I wouldn’t regret, and luckily they turned out to be true. Making those difficult choices was the outcome I hoped for.

He continues to play my father, even though he is no longer my coach.

Wightman claimed his fiancee had purchased a charm from a cat shrine to bring him good fortune, but they later realized it might not be true.

My fiancee revealed that he had a tiny, “good luck cat” thing that he had brought me back.

However, it turns out that if you don’t return the larger cat to the shrine, you’re in for bad luck.

It was then taken back on Wednesday morning! So it ended up working, which should hopefully result in some uninjured years for me. “Nader’s girlfriend must have given him two wonderful cats,” he said.

Wightman won the 1500m final with a calf problem, while Josh Kerr, who was defending champion, slipped past the finish line in last place.

Wightman lamented Kerr’s injury, saying that there would have been “two of us on that podium,” which would have been “a very likely outcome.”

And when asked if any injuries from the 20-minute bus ride between the athletes’ warm-up and the stadium could result from this, he replied, “They could. In the bus, you can stretch your legs out, but it’s not ideal.