World Athletics Championships: Silver for Wightman and Hunt on the track in Tokyo

Jake Wightman and Amy Hunt secured Great Britain’s first medals at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. The pair achieved silver off the back of two incredible performances in the men’s 1500m final and the women’s 200m final, respectively.

It had been a slow start to the championships, with disappointment for Matthew Hudson-Smith in the 400m, Emile Cairess in the Marathon, and Molly Caudery in the Pole Vault.

Nevertheless, the Men’s 1500m final presented a glorious opportunity for two potential British medals, with defending champion Josh Kerr and 2022 champion Jake Wightman aiming for success. There was no Jakob Ingebrigtsen to worry about, with the injury-struck Norwegian star failing to make it past the heats and end his search for the only 1500m gold medal missing from his illustrious collection.

It was a silver that felt like a gold for Wightman

The defending champion immediately looked to position himself near the back of the pack to measure up and monitor any movement ahead of him, letting others set the early tempo. In contrast, Wightman aimed for the front, placing himself on the shoulder of the Dutchman Laros, before settling into third by allowing Cheruiyot to pass him.

With a slow pace set by the front runners, there was very little movement until the penultimate lap when Kerr suddenly pulled up with an apparent calf injury. Despite obviously being out of the race, the Brit soldiered on determined to finish, as the pace quickened moving into the final 400m with Wightman in a very promising position just behind the leaders.

It was the man from Linlithgow, Scotland who made the first move, surging to the front with 200m to go. Straining every sinew as the chasers closed in on him, Wightman chucked himself over the line, but it was the Portuguese athlete Nader who snatched the gold following an impressive final 50m, moving from the outside to pass four runners. Despite losing the lead late on, it was a silver that felt like a gold for Wightman, who has overcome consistent injury problems over the last couple of years.

Very few would have predicted Amy Hunt’s breath-taking race

A couple of days later, it was the turn of Amy Hunt and Dina Asher-Smith in the women’s 200m final. With the outright favourite to win being American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, the main question was who was going to pick up the remaining two medals in a lineup stacked with some of the fastest women in the world.

Many viewed Jamaican legend Shericka Jackson as the one who, if any, could challenge the American, and so very few would have predicted Amy Hunt’s breath-taking race. The Brit just managed to edge out Jackson on the line to snatch the silver medal, with Jefferson-Wooden way out in front, securing a world-leading time of 21.68.

After a fairly slow start, Hunt had work to do down the final straight and delivered a stunning finish, crossing the line with her face full of shock and disbelief at what she had just achieved. Asher-Smith finished in fifth having been drawn a tough lane on the outside.
Hunt’s accomplishment is even more impressive given the fact she was running in her first major final, and so the 23-year-old will definitely be one to look out for over the next few years.