Driven by the pursuit of reaching new heights, Lisa Weightman is a quiet achiever, fondly known as the pocket rocket of Australian marathon running.
Since qualifying for the Olympics in her debut marathon in 2008, Weightman has represented Australia at four Olympics.
This year, she was on the cusp of becoming the first track and field athlete to represent Australia five times at the Olympics whilst at her peak. After her non-selection recently, however, Weightman has bounced back and switched her attention to new opportunities.
What makes her unique is that she’s achieved such a feat whilst building a career as a technology leader and raising a young man. Despite the limitations imposed by the need to also hold down a full-time career and the challenges she has overcome through illness and injury, Weightman has remained committed to her craft, inspiring others to do the same.
Weightman’s passion for running began as a teenager, and she has been striving to break barriers ever since. She has completed the 25 marathons she started and holds swift course records around the country from 10km+.
As a dedicated athlete and advocate for women’s empowerment, Weightman has made a name for herself as a role model and inspiration for women everywhere. Her mission is to empower women through running and belief.
We recently asked Weightman some questions ahead of the 2024 Women’s Health Summit in Sydney on September 4, where she will be speaking on her journey as an elite athlete in Australia.
What’s one key thing you’re working on right now that you’re really excited about?
Channelling the fitness I have gained from earning my place on the Olympic team this year into a new goal – we’ve sacrificed so much, spent hours training, travelling and preparing for the race of my career – it’d be a shame not to put all the hard work to good use.
My husband and I are also wanting to lead by example for our son Pete. Showing him that when you get knocked down you need to get right back up and pivot. Otherwise you will waste the goodness life can bring. I don’t want him to grow up holding onto the baggage of this experience so I need to show him how to overcome it. I’m looking forward to sharing that story at the summit in September.
Can you share a key thing you regularly do (or aspire to do more) that really supports your wellbeing?
Talk! To my family, my friends, write the experiences down and check-in. I don’t bottle things up. I processed the anger and supported my family do the same until it left the building!
Through this awful experience strangers became friends and people you thought were friends became strangers. If it wasn’t such a painful experience but it certainly has been an interesting one that we’ve learned a lot from.
My closest friends keep telling me there’s something else you are meant to be doing, it just hasn’t surfaced yet! So I am regularly writing things down, trying new things and talking things through.
We are fortunate to have the support of Solace Saunas in Brunswick, Vic – the most relaxing thing we’ve done is get a sauna and it is the perfect spot to talk things over – it’s been a game changer and I’m so grateful to be part of their story as they are mine.
As a four-time Olympian, has your perspective around health shifted at all over the course of your elite running career?
I’m so lucky to have some amazing practitioners and friends set the foundation for me early in my career from which we’ve been able to make small tweaks.
Lisa Middleton has been there for me from the start of my career with guidance in diet. My coach has taught Lachlan and I everything we know about distance running, resilience and longevity – Professor Richard Telford renowned physiologist who coached my dad AFL, my idol Lisa Ondieki to an Olympic Silver medal and one of my best friends Michael Shelley to two Commonwealth Gold medals and is my husband Lachlan’s mentor now as he oversees training on the ground. I will also be forever grateful to a very special person, the late Paulette Mifsud Sports Psychologist who set the foundation for my mental resilience.
Reflecting on what I’ve learned through my career, I wouldn’t say it has changed all that much. Listening to what your body is telling you before it starts screaming at you has always been the best way to navigate things and that is even more relevant as I’m getting older and adding further complexities to my life.
My dad would always say to me and still does, “nothing beats persistence” and he was right! Four Olympics later (should’ve been 5, but let’s hope there’s a reason!), two Commonwealth medals and a career in tech I am proud of! It’s been a journey!
You’re also a mum, coach and Associate Partner at IBM– what’s been the biggest challenge to taking care of your mental and physical health amongst the juggle of life?
I need more sleep!!!! I don’t get enough sleep for an elite endurance athlete and sleep is so important for recovery and rejuvenation. But I’d give up running in an instant to have a million Pete’s to be their mum! Sleeping less and spending time cuddling up our Pete and talking about our days together is by far the best part of my day – I’ll sleep when he is 20!
What do you want more women to know about their health?
That all the things we go through we need to talk about, as it’s not a weakness when there’s education and understanding. We keep all the things that happen to us to ourselves as talking about it can be seen as a weakness when it is actually a superpower to be able to manage it all whilst our bodies change.
The more we share our experience as a cohort the greater chance we have of helping the next generation and the generation after that have a better experience.
I’m a 45-year-old working mum who is currently running personal bests. When I was 28 I was told I was too old to be part of the Athletics Australia pathway system, that I’d never make it as a marathon runner at the highest level.
With persistence I have shown the running community and hopefully mums and dads around the globe that being 40 doesn’t mean your dreams are over, perhaps it actually means they are only just beginning.
The Women’s Agenda Health Summit is in Sydney on September 4. Get your tickets here!