Jake Wightman ended a stellar 2018 in impressive fashion, winning the New York Mile at the weekend.
The 1500m specialist has had a dream year in 2018, winning Commonwealth bronze in Gold Coast in April before following that up with European Championship bronze last month.
And in his last competitive outing of the year, the 24-year-old ensured he finished his season on a high, taking a spectacular win in the New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile, which takes place down the iconis New York street.
Wightman was up against two-time Olympic medallist Nick Willis from New Zealand but the Scot took victory with a well-timed late sprint in the final 200m, crossing the line in 3 minutes 53.5 seconds ahead of Willis in 3 minutes 54.2 seconds.
It was a double celebration for the Scots as Neil Gourley also grabbed a spot on the podium, finishing third in 3 minutes 55.3 secs. British 1500m champion Chris O’Hare was sixth while in the women’s race, Steph Twell was fourteenth behind winner, Jenny Simpson from the USA.
Wightman admitted if the finish line had been slightly further away, he may not have held on.
“The finish line didn’t feel like it was coming as quick as I thought it was going to. There was definitely time to get caught. 20 meters longer I probably would have been,” he said.
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