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Laura Weightman

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Laura Weightman
Weightman (front) with Laura Muir (back) at the 2018 European Championships.
Personal information
Born (1991-07-01) 1 July 1991 (age 33)
Alnwick, Northumberland, England
Height1.71 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)
Weight56 kg (123 lb) (2014)
Sport
CountryGreat Britain
England
SportAthletics
EventMiddle distance
ClubMorpeth Harriers
Turned pro2010
Coached bySteve Cram
Retired2023
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Zürich 1500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Berlin 1500 m
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place 2014 Glasgow 1500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Gold Coast 5000 m

Laura Weightman (born 1 July 1991) is a former British middle-distance runner. She reached the 1500 metres final at the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics.[1][2] She won a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and bronze medals at the 2014 and 2018 European Championships. She also won a bronze medal in the 5000 metres at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Early life and education

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Weightman was born on 1 July 1991 in Alnwick, Northumberland, England,[3] where she was educated at The Duchess's Community High School. In May 2013, she graduated with a Sport and Exercise Science degree from Leeds Metropolitan University.

Career

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Weightman finished sixth in the 1500 metres final at the 2010 IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics and ended the season with a 1500m best of 4:09.60. She improved this to 4:07.94 in 2011.

At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Weightman ran a personal best of 4:02.99 in the 1500 metres semi-finals, and went on to finish ninth in the final. In 2013, she ran a 3000 metres best of 8:43.46 in Stretford. She further improved her 1500 metres best to 4:00.17 on 5 July 2014 at the Paris Diamond League. She won a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and a bronze medal at the 2014 European Championships in Zurich.

Weightman reached her second Olympic final in 2016, finishing 11th at the Olympic Games in Rio. She finished sixth in the 1500m final at the 2017 World Championships in London. She won bronze medals in the 5000 metres at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and in the 1500m at the 2018 European Championships in Berlin. After running a personal best of 4:20.49 for the mile in 2018, she improved to 4:17.60 in 2019, a time that moved her into the world all-time top 25.

During her career, Weightman was coached by Steve Cram and Mike Bateman (Morpeth Harriers).

She became a five times British champion when winning the 1500 metres event at the 2020 British Athletics Championships in a time of 4 min 09.76 secs.[4]

Weightman announced her retirement from athletics in September 2023.[5][6] Weightman will continue to coach distance runners at her club in the UK.[7]

Statistics

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Competition record

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Great Britain /  England
2010 World Junior Championships Moncton, Canada 6th 1500 m 4:14.31
2012 Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 7th 1500 m 4:15.60
2013 European Team Championships Gateshead, United Kingdom 2nd 3000 m 9:03.11
2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 2nd 1500 m 4:09.24
European Championships Zurich, Switzerland 3rd 1500 m 4:06.32
2015 World Championships Beijing, China DNS (sf) 1500 m 4:06.13 (h)
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 11th 1500 m 4:14.95
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom 6th 1500 m 4:04.11
2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 3rd 5000 m 15:25.84
European Championships Berlin, Germany 3rd 1500 m 4:03:75
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar 7th 5000 m 14:44.57

Personal bests

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Event Time Venue Date
800 metres 2:01.87 Stretford, United Kingdom 25 July 2017
1500 metres 4:00.09 Berlin, Germany 13 September 2020
Mile 4:17.60 Monaco 12 July 2019
3000 metres 8:26.07 Stanford, CA, United States 30 June 2019
5000 meters 14:35.44 Monaco 14 Aug 2020
  • All information taken from IAAF profile.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Laura Weightman delight after 1500m qualification". bbc.co.uk. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  2. ^ "Laura Weightman Profile". Thepowerof10.info. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  3. ^ Laura Weightman. Glasgow2014. Retrieved on 2014-09-17.
  4. ^ "Results list". British Athletics. Retrieved 18 January 2021
  5. ^ "Laura Weightman retires from athletics to 'protect long-term health'". BBC News. 30 September 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Northumberland runner Laura Weightman announces retirement". ITV News. 1 October 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  7. ^ [1]
  8. ^ "Weightman, Laura Biography". IAAF. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
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