Wightman, 31, was agonisingly close to matching his gold from 2022 in Eugene, Oregon, but was pipped on the line by Portugal’s Isaac Nader by two hundredths of a second with a time of 3:34.10.
In what proved to be another thrilling 1500m race on the global stage, Wightman pulled away to take the lead on the final lap before Nader reeled him in to take a maiden World Championship gold.
It’s been a tough couple of years of injury for Wightman, with the Retail, Marketing and Management graduate understandably delighted to make the podium places on his return to competitive sport.
“I knew I still had something in me. I knew I was going to run to try and win today and whatever happened, I would be happy,” he told BBC Sport.
"When you get that close you cannot help but think what if I had done more? But I left everything out there. It has been a few bleak years so making this team was the main thing.
"I have made some big changes in my life this year. Getting a new coach and moving to Manchester. I hoped they were for the best and now that the big stage is here, I stepped up.
"I want to thank my coaching team and my Dad. It will be a while to process this.
"I believe that you get what you pay for in the end. I am so happy that all the persistence has been worth it.
"I felt like I had another gear all these Championships but I did not know what would happen. This silver is a gold for me and I am so relieved."
The 2025 World Championships in Tokyo will run until Sunday 21 September.