[3] One of Whetton's first titles was the gold in 1500 metres at the 1963 Summer Universiade held at Porto Alegre, Brazil.

In 1964 Whetton qualified to represent Great Britain at the 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, and was one of three British competitors who ran the 1500 metres; the other two being William McKim and fellow Harriers club-mate Alan Simpson.

Whetton managed to retain the European Indoor title over the next two years, at Prague and Madrid.

Whetton again represented Great Britain in the altitude influenced 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, and again qualified for the final.

In a close final Whetton beat Ireland's Francis Murphy to take the gold.