1500m world champion Jake Wightman will not defend his 1500m gold medal at next month’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest as he continues to recover from a foot injury.

Here’s what you need to know:

– Wightman has not raced this outdoor season after suffering a foot injury during a training camp in South Africa in January. He had a bye to the world championships as the reigning champion but will not be healthy in time to compete.

– Last year, he stunned Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the final 200m to win the 1500m gold medal. His father, Geoff, was behind the mic as the stadium announcer at Hayward Field.

– He also went on to win a bronze medal in the 1500m at the Commonwealth Games and a silver medal in the 800m at the European Championships.

What he wrote:

“Sadly I’m going to have to wait a bit longer for a moment like this...

As a result of my injury I sustained in February, I’ve had to deal with several more setbacks as I prepared to race this Summer. I’ve always felt as though time has been on my side to overcome my problems fully, however, it has finally run out.

This means I’m sadly going to be unable to compete at Worlds which has been really gutting to come to terms with.

Although I’m very disappointed not be able to try and defend my title, my focus has to be on getting my body rested and ready for 2024, to ensure I’ll be back performing at my best.

The are some risks I could’ve taken to be on that Budapest start line, however, the potential to jeopardize my Olympic year makes this the obvious decision.

I’m currently taking some downtime before starting my rehab, ready to be back running safely and pain-free by the end of August.

Big thanks to all my team and British Athletics who have worked really hard to try and give me every chance of competing.

I’ll see you back on the start line soon.”