Weidlinger took tenth place at the 2002 European Cross Country Championships. Competing at his first European Athletics Championships, he finished twelfth in the final of the 2002 edition. He opened the following season with an appearance in the 3000 metres at the World Indoor Championships, where he reached the final and finished in tenth place. He participated in another global event in the outdoor season, but he did not finish in his steeplechase heat at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics. He finished third at the World Military Games in Sicily in December 2003 at the 5000 metres. He returned to the European Cross Country Championships at the end of his 2003 campaign, but only managed eleventh position on that occasion.