London’s Olympic Stadium certainly
lit up on Friday 24th July 2015
for Laura Weightman’s outstanding performance in the Women’s 1500m at the Diamond League Anniversary Games Meeting.
Despite the incessant pouring rain and leaden skies,
the Beijing bound Morpeth Harrier most effectively signed off her pre World Championships track campaign by producing her best run of the summer, when winning in front of a packed house in a time of 4m06.09s.
 
Weightman was always prominently placed in the early stages
of the three and three quarter lap event, and at the Bell went
to the front but had not quite broken clear of her nearest challengers.
 
With 200m remaining Weightman put in her final charge for home,
and from that point was never in fear of losing, something which
has seemed to elude her during most of her recent outings.
 
At the finish line she possessed a comfortable winning margin
over her closest rival Gabriele Grunewald of the USA,
with Katie Mackey, also of the USA a little further adrift in third place.
 
This was just the tonic that Laura required before Beijing,
and the win certainly leaves her in positive mode,
as she embarks on a spell of altitude training before
those much targeted World Championships in late August.
 
Afterwards when interviewed by BBC’s Phil Jones,
Laura was overjoyed with her win, and felt very warmed
by the crowd’s support throughout the run,
and took personal delight from being back on the track
in the Olympic Stadium, and sharing the limelight of the
occasion alongside the likes of the legendary
Usain Bolt of Jamaica, and Great Britain’s Mo Farah.

Jane Briggs was delighted in finishing her 10th Marathon.
A very scenic off road race, along the Northumberland coastal path,
Jane finished 8th lady in a time of 4hrs 32mins16.

Well done to Jane