Wightman sought a refresh this year, making the difficult decision to end his coaching partnership with father Geoff, who was commentating inside the stadium when his son outlasted Jakob Ingebrigtsen to win gold in Eugene.
In what has been a year of significant change away from the track, Wightman began working with his partner Georgie’s father, John Hartigan, and relocated to Manchester to be closer to his physiotherapist.
The only major change in terms of his training, Wightman says, has been to respect his body more.
“Honestly, it has been a very, very bleak couple of years for me. A lot of times I doubted if could make it back to this level,” Wightman said.
“I have made some huge changes in my life this year. I want to thank my coaching team and my dad for getting me to this point in the first place. He did all the hard work bringing me to this level.”
He added: “When you get that close you cannot help but think ‘what if I had tried a bit more?’ But I left everything out there.”
Once again commentating at the stadium where his son celebrated his medal, his father Geoff told BBC Sport: “Jake could not have given any more there, it was pretty much a perfect race from him. I’m very proud.
“He dipped, which he does not usually do. I have given him a hard time for that sometimes. I hope I have contributed to that as well.
“[His mum] Susan and I are just very proud and we are enjoying the moment with him. I will be calling his medal ceremony tomorrow, so I will need to have a stiff upper lip for that.”