Laura Weightman

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Laura Weightman
EKB52988 1500m dames ereronde (44975609381).jpg
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+12 in)
Weight56 kg (123 lb) (2014)
Sport
Country Great Britain
England
Sport Athletics
Event Middle distance
ClubMorpeth Harriers
Turned pro2010
Coached by Steve Cram
Retired2023
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
European Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2014 Zürich 1500 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2018 Berlin 1500 m
Representing Flag of England.svg  England
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2014 Glasgow 1500 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 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.

Contents

Early life and education

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

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

Competition record

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain / Flag of England.svg  England
2010 World Junior Championships Moncton, Canada6th1500 m 4:14.31
2012 Olympic Games London, United Kingdom7th1500 m 4:15.60
2013 European Team Championships Gateshead, United Kingdom2nd3000 m9:03.11
2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom2nd1500 m 4:09.24
European Championships Zurich, Switzerland3rd1500 m 4:06.32
2015 World Championships Beijing, China DNS (sf)1500 m 4:06.13 (h)
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil11th1500 m 4:14.95
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom6th1500 m 4:04.11
2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia3rd5000 m 15:25.84
European Championships Berlin, Germany3rd1500 m 4:03:75
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar7th5000 m 14:44.57

Personal bests

EventTimeVenueDate
800 metres 2:01.87 Stretford, United Kingdom25 July 2017
1500 metres 4:00.09 Berlin, Germany13 September 2020
Mile 4:17.60 Monaco 12 July 2019
3000 metres 8:26.07 Stanford, CA, United States30 June 2019
5000 meters 14:35.44 Monaco 14 Aug 2020

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References

  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. [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/270-the-sunday-plodcast-74606072/episode/s3-ep47-ep-147-laura-weightman-126319077/
  8. "Weightman, Laura Biography". IAAF . Retrieved 26 August 2012.