A world 1500 metres title, plus two significant medals, have come his way inside two months but Jake Wightman remains greedy for more. As an unforgettable summer nears its conclusion, the Scot will tonight (Friday) bid to add a Scottish record onto his illustrious CV at the penultimate Diamond League leg in Brussels.

The 28-year-old plans to capitalise on his form and experience by finally knocking Tom McKean’s 800 metres mark of 1:43.88 from the top of the charts at the Van Damme Memorial meeting. It has stood unbroken since 1989. Given the calibre of the current generation of middle-distance marauders, it is surely a question of when, not if, the past master’s mark – still the ninth-fastest by any Brit - will fall.

“It's a credit to that record that it has stood that long, because it shows how hard it’s been for Scottish athletes or even British athletes to run that quick ever since over 800,” said Wightman.

“I'd love to finish my career as the Scottish record holder at some point. So I’ll try and find a bit quicker over 1500 and 800. This season, I'm in the shape of my life. And generally when I've been in the best 1500 shape, I've also been the best 800 metres shape. I've done some sessions that suggest that I'm close to that, which I want to be able to prove in the next couple of weeks.”

He will duel again with Spain’s Mariano Garcia, who denied him the European 800m crown in Munich a fortnight ago, plus with Kenyan Emmanuel Korir, Algerian Djamel Sedjati and Canadian Marco Arop, who respectively captured gold, silver and bronze in this event at the world championships.

The immense pressure that accompanies the pursuit of medals is now off, the Scot insists. With just next week’s Diamond League final in Zurich to come, there is the freedom to chase quick times with no consequence for failure.

“Hopefully, I've qualified already for Zurich but one of these two are my best chance of running the 800m record,” he said. “I feel it would be a shame to finish my career not having done that. Because definitely in 2020, when I ran 1:44.18, I was in the shape to be able to do it.

“But it's one thing being in the shape to do it. And another thing actually going out and doing it. But I need to be running 1:43s. That's why I feel like I should be out running at the moment.”

Meanwhile Laura Muir believes her British 1500m record could fall to complement her own summer triple crown. The 29-year-old is reunited in Brussels with Northern Ireland’s Ciara Mageean – her runner-up at Europeans and Commonwealths – with the Scot keen to race against the clock.

“I know there's a quick time in there.,” she said. “It's just about going out there and enjoying the experience of racing. But for me, it was getting about medals this season and that's what I've done.”