WEIGHTMAN MAKES LIGHT WORK OF NOOSA RUN
TWO-time Commonwealth Games medallist Lisa Weightman has sounded a warning to rivals ahead of the Gold Coast half marathon after winning the Noosa 21km event.
Weightman’s time of 1 hour 10 minutes and 4 seconds at the Noosa race last Saturday was a 12-minute race record.
The 40-year-old won silver in the marathon at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games after claiming bronze at the Games in Delhi, India eight years earlier.
Weightman is booked to race the half marathon on the Gold Coast on July 7 where she is expected to be among the favourites as she works towards qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
“I am signed up for the Gold Coast half in a few weeks and then the Sydney Harbour 10km,” Weightman said.
“I am enjoying the idea of joining in all the Australian races and being a part of the atmosphere. Then I will have to get serious and put in some marathon mileage to qualify for Tokyo.”
Noosa holds a special place in Lisa’s heart as it was the venue of her first half marathon back in 2000, where she came third, and the preferred training environment for her 2016 Rio Olympic and 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games preparations.
The multiple Olympian arrived on the Sunshine Coast with some genuine speed in her legs, only narrowly missing running a personal best (1:09.00) over the 21km.
“We set out in a nice little pack and were sharing the lead which was nice,” Weightman said.
“I just wanted to see what sort of rhythm I could find. I ran a little bit quicker in the first half to get a good 10km hit out and I managed to do that.”