WITHIN the space of just a couple of months last summer, Jake Wightman experienced the highest of highs followed by the lowest of lows.

Last June, he produced one of the biggest upsets of recent years to win the 1500m at the Oslo Diamond League Bislett Games, breaking his personal best and shooting to the top of the British rankings in the process.

That victory gave Wightman - and others - the belief that he could win a medal at the London World Championships but it was not to be, with the 23-year-old being eliminated in the semi-finals of the 1500m.

But while Wightman admits to being hugely disappointed about his failure to perform to his best at the World Championships, he is confident that he has learnt from the experience and going into 2018, is a better athlete as a result of his rollercoaster year.

“I learnt from last year that there’s really no point running a great race to get to the major championship and then once you get there, not performing," he said.

"So it’s about working out how I can put myself in the best position to do well. I definitely had some tough lessons about that last summer so I’m just hoping that I’ve learnt from that and that over the next year, I can make amends and really perform when it matters.

"But the positive side is that once you’ve beaten those guys once, it should give you the belief that you can do it again. If I can beat them on the circuit, I don’t see why I can’t beat them at championships.”

Wightman knows that the sooner he can put into practice what he has learnt, the better. His schedule over the next few months is jam-packed, starting with the British Indoor Championships, which begin today in Birmingham.

He will face, amongst others, his compatriot Chris O’Hare, but despite having limited experience indoors, Wightman is one of the favourites to take the British title having run a new personal best in Boston last weekend. His target is to be selected for next month’s World Indoor Championships before tacking the Commonwealth Games in April, with this weekend’s championship the ideal way to begin the build-up. “This is the first time that I’ve ever done the British Champs indoors - normally I don’t do it but because the Commonwealth Games are so early, I need to get rolling a little bit earlier than usual,” he said. “I don’t anticipate being as sharp as some of the others but I’ll just see how it goes. This is probably the fittest I’ve ever been at this point in the year, I think just because I’ve had to be but I’m feeling good.

"World Indoors is obviously a big championship and it would be another great chance to race in front of a home crowd but more than anything, it would be a good stepping-stone towards the Commonwealth Games and it would be some more good championship prep.”

Wightman will go into what will be his second Commonwealth Games with a real chance of picking up some silverware, with the Scottish track and field squad travelling to Australia with the potential of returning as the most successful squad ever and Wightman admits that he loves being part of a team that constantly pushes each other on. “For the leading Brits, the Commy Games are definitely a good chance of a medal," he said. "I’m hoping to double up and do both the 800m and the 1500m so I’ll be giving myself two chances out there but that will make for a very tough schedule because, if I get through every round, that would be five races in five days. That would be a real test but it’s also exciting.

"It’s nice being part of a squad that’s so strong. If one person gets a medal, I really feel like that will be such an incentive for everyone else to go on and do the same.

"It’s definitely the strongest squad we’ve had and what's great is that most of the group has come through together - a lot of us were at Glasgow 2014 but then everyone has stepped up over the last four years so Gold Coast is going to be a very exciting Games for all of us.”

What is so thrilling about watching Wightman run is his willingness to go for it during races, a tactic that paid off at last year’s Bislett Games but which has also backfired. But as he matures, he believes that he is rapidly learning about how to make sure his tactics are as effective as possible. “I don’t like being in races where I’m there just to make up the numbers - I feel like any race you’re in, you should try to win it," he said.

"It’s not too often that chances will open up for you so you have to make the chances for yourself.

In the past, I’ve gone for it but I wasn’t quite strong enough to pull it off and if it goes wrong, you can look like a bit of a fool. But I’m starting to learn what my strengths are and so now, if I do make a move to win a race, most of the time I can pull it off. But having said that, everyone that I’m racing against thinks the same thing so it’s pretty hard to actually get wins.”

Alongside Wightman, a number of Scotland’s other Gold Coast-bound athletes will be in action this weekend, with Eilidh Doyle sharpening up her flat speed when she goes in the 400m while Eilish McColgan will have a busy weekend doing both the 1500m and the 3000m. Steph Twell is also in the 3000m.