The former international marathoner turned announcer and coach tells Stuart Weir about his career behind the mic

Geoff Wightman is a familiar voice to British athletics fans. From domestic events to global championships, you will find him behind the mic and in 2019 he worked at events for 91 days of the year in 11 different countries.

This summer, due to the coronavirus pandemic, he has worked as an announcer for just three – covering the British Championships and the London Marathon only.

The former international marathoner sees the role of the stadium announcer as "to inform and explain".

He adds: "Originally, when it was just Norris McWhirter and a microphone, it was just ‘on the start line there’s so and so. And the race starts at 4.00pm’. That works with a knowledgeable audience, but over the years as we become more in competition with other sports, it has to be more about entertainment.

"So that’s where music comes in and race commentary, making it a more packaged occasion.

"Diamond Leagues are 90-120 minutes, the same as a football match, and are intending to enthuse people in the same way and attract and entertain a younger audience."

Wightman often does a double act with Katharine Merry, the 2000 Olympic 400m bronze medallist. They dovetail easily.

"We don’t rehearse anything and the only planning that goes into it is who’s going to do each event," he says on working with Merry.

"I really enjoy working with her and we’ve been doing events together for five or six years.

"Kath has a lot of strings to her bow because she can do television, she can present, she does radio, football, Fighting Talk on Five Live. She’s very versatile."

Wightman got into announcing almost by chance. His mother, Nancy, was president of Dartford Harriers.

"In 1983 the regular announcer was unwell and my mother volunteered me," he explains. "And from then on, I started doing all Dartford events.

"For the next seven or eight years I just did Dartford events, which bizarrely included Zola Budd’s first ever race outside South Africa when she ran for Aldershot in the Southern League."

In 1991 he was injured and didn’t run the London Marathon so he asked the media officer, Tony Ward, if he could join Tony at the finish line. He has worked on the London Marathon finish line every year since, apart from 1993 when he ran it.

Originally he did it as a side-line while working full-time for Scottish Athletics and then for UK Athletics. Since 2016, it has been more or less a full-time job.

He always seems the master of facts and stats, but he works hard at that.

"I’m very dependent on Mark Butler’s notes (profiles of every athlete) but would spend a good two hours beforehand preparing and prepping, checking pronunciation and making sure that the stats are up to date with qualifying rounds.

"Because I live athletics day to day, it’s part of my working knowledge as well."

Wightman also coaches his son Jake, the 2018 European and Commonwealth 1500m medallist, and it amuses people when he finds himself commentating on him.

Geoff doesn’t find it a problem as he has been doing it for years.

"My wife taught at the school Jake went to and I used to get roped into sports days, so I have been announcing his races since he was 13 or 14," he explains. "When events are being allocated by a producer or director, they know that I love to do 800s and 1500s and I am often lucky enough to get one or both of those.

"I am always conscious that if I ever mess up, show any bias or partiality or appear unprofessional, I wouldn’t get allocated them again. So it’s easier just to play it straight and keep it neutral.

"The only time anyone has ever queried it was at the World Indoors in Birmingham in 2018 when the director of competition said ‘Geoff’s down for the 1500m, and his son’s made the final, is that going to be all right?’ And I think Andy Kay (one of the event media consultants) said that I’d been doing it for about four years and it seemed to be all right."

Just to check, I asked Jake if he found it a problem and if he ever heard his dad’s comments on his races.

"Fortunately not!" he replied. "The good thing about racing is that you’re so focused that you blur everything else out."

Geoff agrees. "That is probably true and he ignores me most of the time anyway! In the heat of a race there are a million other things that are taking your attention. Also in most arenas the speakers are pointed towards the crowd, not the athletes."

Hopefully there will be a good season of events in 2021 and Geoff will be busy again, back telling crowds, as the race starter shows a green card after a faulty start, that all the athletes can now work in America!

(Lead photo, showing Geoff Wightman interviewing Mo Farah, by Mark Shearman)

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