Laura Weightman, Part 1/3

This is the second of this weeks’ columns by Stuart Weir. Laura Weightman is the focus, and this is 1/3.

Laura Weightman, photo by Getty Images / British Athletics

Laura Weightman Part 1

This is part one of a three part feature on Laura Weightman.

Laura Weightman, the British distance runner, is an athlete who always seems to produce a solid performance. She took bronze in the European Championship 1500m in 2014 and again in 2018. She gained a silver in the Commonwealth 1500m in 2014 and a Commonwealth bronze in 2018, this time in the 5000m. She has been in two Olympic 1500m finals (7^th and 11^th) and two world championship finals (6^th in the 2017 1500m and 7^th in the 5000m in 2019).

Her PRs are as follows. Note that three of them came in 2019.

I caught up with in July 2020 and we started with an assessment of Doha 2019.

“I was incredibly proud of my performance in Doha [7^th in 5000m in 14:44.57]”, she told me, “and I think it being my first global championships over 5000m, it was a real big learning curve. I was really proud of that performance, especially off the back of picking up a small injury at the end of July which meant I didn’t run most of August. It was great that I was able to pick back up training from where I left off and come away from Doha with a really fast 5000m PB and a strong global performance. I walked away from there thinking I can build on this and hopefully over the coming years I can get better and I can get stronger and be more competitive in finals”.

Women’s 5000m, photo by Getty Images / British Athletics

Interestingly when I spoke to her in Monaco – shortly after she had run the 3000m PR at Pre and before she ran a mile PR in Monaco – she told me that, just over two months before the World Championships, that she was still unsure which event she would run in Doha: “We haven’t decided yet. We will definitely experiment with the different events and distances to see where my ability lies over 5000m but I still believe I’m a strong 1500m runner. This is just a year where we can try out both events and see where we think my best strength will lie for a championship performance”.

Her reflections on the 3000m PR at Pre gave further insights into her thinking: “I was surprised I ran so fast. I knew I was in shape and we knew that a low 8.30 was a realistic target going into the race. But to come away with 8:26, in the manner I ran the race, being competitive and finishing fifth and beating some high-quality athletes in doing so – that was quite a shock. But I was delighted to run so fast. Pre last year was one of those races where you just love every step of the way and everything just falls in line. That for me was a really special race.

“I’ve not run 3000m often; I think my last one had been back in 2013. 3000m is definitely a different kind of race but it’s a distance that is well suited to me with my strength and speed mix. It’s an event that I really enjoy doing. 3000m could potentially be my best distance because I’ve shown that I’ve got strength and speed but I decided to try to explore some more 5000m to see where that could go and try to translate 8.26 [for 3000m] up to 5000m. But I definitely see myself as a 1500m runner as well”.

When we spoke in July she explained how she and her coach came to the decision that she should run 5000m in Doha: “I decided in 2018 to go to the Commonwealth Games in the 5000m and in 2019 we wanted to experiment in both distances. That’s why I raced the 3000m at Pre and the mile in Monaco, because I wanted to give myself the option. We decided off the back of the 3000m and the mile that we wanted to do into Doha and run the 5000m. I’m really pleased that we took that chance and gave myself that challenge because I really enjoyed it and I think it is an event that I am excited to explore over the coming years. The 1500m is still an event that I still want to race and I still want to explore and I do believe that my performance in the final in Monaco especially last year shows that I have still got that capability to run fast over 1500m. That is definitely something that I am not leaving behind”.

She added that she would not rule out doubling up if the scheduling allowed it “but in Doha there was a timetable clash so it would be too much to double up”.

Laura Weightman, photo by Getty Images / British Athletics

Finally, she shared what had been her plans for 2020 had been before Cov19 put the kibosh on everything. “This year we wanted to go into Tokyo, build on my 5000m from last year, continue that momentum and build that strength and endurance base, running more 5000s and gaining more experience in that event. In Doha that final I was very much running hard the entire way and I want to build that strength up and that racing experience so when I’m in a 5000m, I feel like I’m racing it, rather than just running fast. I think the 5000m is an event where I have a lot to learn. I haven’t actually run many 5000m races. I did the Commonwealth Games and Doha but only one or two in between. I haven’t got a lot of experience running 5000m yet so that was definitely a big aim this year, to gain more experience in running the event and spending the winter and the season building that strength and endurance as well. I think that would only have lent well for racing fast again over 1500m and 3000m as well. They complement each other”.

Weightman will run in the behind-closed-doors, British Championships in early September. You will not be surprised to know that she does not know yet at what distance: “We haven’t actually decided but I did say to my coach that it would be fun this year if they did what they’ve done in America before and have some different distances. It would be fun to have a 1K or 3K, to mix it up a bit and have a bit of fun. But if not, obviously I’ll race the 1500m or 5000m, it will just depend a bit on how many athletes and which is the most useful to train in”.