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.
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.
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]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 |
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