Commonwealth Games Women’s 5000mts

Laura celebrates getting a Bronze medal.

Despite feeling a little unwell over recent days, Morpeth Harrier Laura Weightman, still managed to pull out all the stops to claim a superb Commonwealth Games Bronze Medal for England in the Women’s 5000m, on the final day of Track and Field activity at the 25,000 capacity Carrara Stadium,
on the Australian Gold Coast, on Saturday 14th April 2018.

Weightman waited until the final two laps of the twelve and a half lap event, which she was running for the first time at International level, before sensing her opportunity of gaining a possible second Commonwealth medal, her first being the Silver that she won in the 1500m in Glasgow in 2014, as she chased down Australia’s Celia Sullohern, who was then lying in fourth place, having shaken off fellow Brit Eilish McColgan,
running for Scotland, and Kenya’s Eva Cherono.

Cherono’s Kenyan team-mates Helen Obiri, the World Champion, and Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi,
had already drawn clear of the rest, and were having their own independent battle for the Gold and Silver medals.

With just under 300m remaining, in a soaring 25 degrees, Weightman
passed a hopeful medal opponent Juliet Checkwel of Uganda, to run
on to claim a well earned Bronze medal behind Obiri and Kipkemboi,
posting a finishing time of 15m25.84s, twelve seconds adrift of the winner.

In the end, an exhausted yet joyful Weightman concluded that she had
judged her tactics perfectly, and was delighted to take her Bronze medal,
her third on the World stage, and thanked her coach Steve Cram,
who was endeavouring to remain perfectly calm in his BBC commentary role.

Fellow Brits, McColgan, running for Scotland, Wales’s Melissa Courtney,
a medallist over 1500m, Northern Ireland’s Emma Mitchell,
and Steph Twell, also of Scotland, finished in sixth, ninth,
​thirteenth, and fourteenth places respectively.

Race Video

Laura Weightman at the medal presentation ceromony