'That's My Son!': Jake Wightman Crowned World Champion While Proud Dad Commentates

The Wightman household will be proud as punch right now.

Jake Wightman upset the odds to win gold in the men’s 1500m at the World Athletics Championships, while his dad watched on in the commentary box

Incredibly, Jake was introduced to the medal podium by his father Geoff in a truly heartwarming moment.

British star Wightman came-from-behind to upstage Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the final.

It was Ingebrigtsen who looked to be comfortably leading the race at the final turn, but as the Norwegian checked his shoulder he would have seen Wightman storming up in his rearview mirrors.

At the 200-metre mark, the Brit put his foot down and accelerated past his rival.

With nothing but empty track and the finish line in sight, Wightman pinned his ears back and raced home to secure a historic victory.

It was an emotion-charged moment for Wightman, amplified even more by the fact that his dad was on the mic doing the in-stadium commentary.

“That’s my son and he’s world champion,” Geoff said at one point, struggling to contain his sheer excitement and pride.

But in a truly special moment, Geoff then introduced his son on the podium to collect his medal.

In a clip posted on Twitter, an overwhelmed Geoff can be seen closing his eyes and taking deep breaths as he tries to compose himself before declaring his son world champ at Hayward Field.

Wightman then steps onto the podium where he is given his gold medal from double Olympic 1500m champion Sebastian Coe.

It's an incredible achievement following a disappointing end to last year's Olympic Games.

In Tokyo, Wightman finished in 10th place, but this run proves he's up there with the very best on the planet.

"It probably won't sink in until I have retired I don't think," he said after the victory.

"It's mad. I had such a disappointing year in Tokyo last year. I don't think people realise how crushing it was to go in with such high expectations and come away hoping for a medal but end up tenth.

"I have given up so much to get to this point and it makes everything worth it."

He added: "The energy of the crowd was amazing. I felt their love, people hugging me.

"When you win, you start being everyone's favourite. That's pretty awesome to win the world title on this track."

Featured Image Credit: Alamy/Twitter/BBC/KatharineMerry

Topics: Australia, Athletics, Olympics

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry