Lisa Jane Weightman (born 16 January 1979) is an Australian

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

and four time Olympian who specializes in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

event. At the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

she came 26th in the Women's marathon with a time of 2:34.19, 7 minutes behind the eventual winner,

Peres Jepchirchir Peres Jepchirchir (born 27 September 1993) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes mainly in road running competitions. She won the gold medal in the women's marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Jepchirchir was the champion a ...

. Weightman represented Australia in the marathon at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15 to 23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenbu ...

. She won her first marathon race in 2010, setting a personal best time of 2:28:48 at the

Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon The Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon () is an annual marathon road race which takes place in mid-April in Nagano, Japan. It is an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race competition. The Nagano Marathon has races for both elite and amateur runners. It ...

. She has also competed at the IAAF World Road Running Championships and the

IAAF World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the In ...

, winning a team bronze in the latter competition in 2008.

Career

Weightman started out as a track runner but had her first success in

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...

, winning the under-23 section of the national championships in 2003. She took part in the Chiba Ekiden road relay competition the following year and finished ninth. In 2006, she became a double national champion when she topped the podium in the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

and

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

events, and she returned to the Chiba Ekiden to improve to fourth place in her stage. Her first international championships appearance was at the

2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships The 1st IAAF World Road Running Championships were held in Debrecen, Hungary on 8 October 2006, the women's race starting at 11:00 and the men's race at 13:00. This was the first time the title of World Road Running Champion had been competed fo ...

where she placed thirty-seventh overall. Weightman ended the year by finishing second in the 10,000 metres at the Zatopek Classic behind

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

er Jessica Ruthe. (Zatopek is named after the Czech distance running great Emil Zatopek and was first held in 1961. It is one of the most prestigious track races on Australian soil). Weightman represented Australia twice in 2007: taking forty-second place at the

2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 24, 2007. The races were held at the Mombasa Golf Course in Mombasa, Kenya. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races encom ...

and thirty-third at the

2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships The 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships were held in Udine, Italy on 14 October 2007. Detailed reports on the event and an appraisal of the results were given both for the men's race and for the women's race. Medallists Race result ...

.Weightman Lisa Jane
.

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

. Retrieved on 21 April 2010. Weightman won a world championship medal at the

2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 30, 2008. The races were held at the Holyrood Park in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All race ...

and she and

Benita Johnson Benita Jaye Willis (born 6 May 1979 in Mackay, Queensland) is an Australian long-distance runner, who is a three-time national champion in the women's 5,000 metres. Her foremost achievement is a gold medal in the long race at the 2004 IAAF Wor ...

helped lead the Australian women to the team bronze. She made her marathon debut soon afterwards, finishing thirteenth in the women's race with a time of 2:32:32. This performance gained her selection for the women's marathon race at the

, where she finished thirty-third with a time of 2:34:16, the second best Australian performance after Johnson. Weightman improved her best world cross country performance at the

2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 28, 2009. The races were held at the Al Bisharat Golf Course in Amman, Jordan. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races ...

, finishing seventeenth and heading the Australian team to seventh place in the rankings. At the 2009 Christchurch Half Marathon, she was the first past the post to record her first major win on the

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ru ...

circuit. She competed at her first

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations. Alongside Olympic ...

later that season as Australia's only participant in the women's marathon; she placed eighteenth overall and set a new personal best over the distance with a time of 2:30:42. She improved further in the marathon at the start of the following year, dominating the

from the 15 km mark to the finish. She knocked almost two minutes off her previous best time to win in 2:28:48, making her the first Australian to win the race. She was selected for the event at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...

in New Delhi. She fell away from the leading pack on two occasions but managed to make up the deficit both times and won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

in a time of 2:35.25, although she had to be taken from the finish line in a wheelchair due to her exhaustion. She won the 10 km run of the

Gold Coast Marathon The Gold Coast Marathon is an annual road marathon on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, first held in 1979. Marketed as "Australia's premier road race", the marathon is one of two races in Australia to hold World Athletics Label status, ...

-event on 1 July 2012 in

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast, also known by its initials, GC, is a coastal city and region in the state of Queensland, Australia, located approximately south-southeast of the centre of the list of Australian capital cities, state capital, Brisbane. It is ...

, Australia finishing in front of

Emma Moffatt Emma Moffatt (born 7 September 1984) is a retired Australian professional triathlete. She won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and won the gold at the ITU Triathlon World Championships in 2009 and in 2010. She was born in ...

. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she finished in 17th place. She came 31st in the marathon at the 2016 Rio Olympics in 2:34:41 and 26th in the marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She achieved a PB of 2:24:00 and came 15th at the 2022 Berlin Marathon.

Personal life

Outside of competitive running, Weightman is a business consultant for

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

and she was the recipient of the 2000 Award for Business Excellence from ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

''. She is the daughter of former footballer Peter Weightman and married her training partner, Lachlan McArthur, in 2008.Preston Olympian Lisa Weightman to marry
. ''Northcote Leader'' (17 November 2008). Retrieved on 16 October 2010.

Personal bests

* All information taken from World Athletics profile.

Competition record

Road race wins

* Christchurch Half Marathon: 2009 *

: 2010 *

Melbourne Marathon The Melbourne Marathon has been held annually since 1978. The 42.195 km run over the traditional marathon distance is the main race within the annual Melbourne Marathon Festival. The race celebrated its 30th birthday in 2007 with a new cour ...

: 2013

References

External links

*
Lisa Weightman
at

Athletics Australia Australian Athletics is the national sporting organisation (NSO) recognised by Australian Sports Commission for the sport of athletics in Australia. Founded in 1897, the organisation is responsible for administering a sport with over 16,000 reg ...

Lisa Weightman
at Australian Athletics Historical Results * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Weightman, Lisa Jane Living people 1979 births Australian female long-distance runners World Athletics Championships athletes for Australia Olympic athletes for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes from Melbourne Sportswomen from Victoria (state) 21st-century Australian sportswomen Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics