Robert Weir (athlete)
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nationality | English | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Birmingham, West Midlands | 4 February 1961|||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Birchfield Harriers, Birmingham | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Robert 'Bob' Boyd Weir (born 4 February 1961 in Birmingham) is a male retired English athlete, best known as a discus thrower, who was a twelve-time national champion. Weir also achieved success in hammer throw, winning Commonwealth Games gold in 1982, and competed in strongman competitions.
His daughter, Jillian Weir, representing Canada, won bronze in the women's hammer at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, emulating her father's achievement 20 years before.[1]
Education
[edit]Weir attended Handsworth Grammar School in Birmingham. Weir studied at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas attaining a degree in Business Studies in 1983.
Athletics career
[edit]His personal best throw was 65.08 metres, achieved in August 2000 in Bedford. This places him fifth among English discus throwers, behind Perriss Wilkins, Richard Slaney, Glen Smith and Carl Myerscough. Weir represented Great Britain in the 1984 Summer Olympics.[2] He represented England in the discus event and won a gold medal in the hammer event, at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.[3] Eight years later he won a bronze medal in the discus at the 1994 Commonwealth Games and followed this up with a gold medal in the discus four years later at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. He appeared in his final Commonwealth Games at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and won a fourth medal in the process; another bronze in the discus.[4]
Representing the SMU Mustangs track and field team, Weir won the 1983 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the hammer throw.[5][6]
Weir also competed at the 1997 World's Strongest Man competition, finishing 3rd in a qualifying group of six, only being beaten by Jouko Ahola and Flemming Rasmussen who went on to finish as champion and runner-up respectively in the 1997 final .[7]
International competitions
[edit]Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing | |||||
1981 | Universiade | Bucharest, Romania | 8th | Discus throw | 56.42 m |
12th | Hammer throw | 64.56 m | |||
1982 | Commonwealth Games | Brisbane, Australia | 5th | Discus throw | 59.26 m |
1st | Hammer throw | 75.08 m | |||
1983 | Universiade | Edmonton, Canada | 2nd | Hammer throw | 74.10 m |
World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 15th (q) | Hammer throw | 71.62 m | |
1984 | Olympic Games | Los Angeles, United States | 10th | Discus throw | 61.36 m |
8th | Hammer throw | 72.62 m | |||
1993 | World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 18th (q) | Discus throw | 59.74 m |
1994 | European Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 13th (q) | Discus throw | 57.18 m |
Commonwealth Games | Victoria, Canada | 3rd | Discus throw | 60.86 m | |
1995 | World Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 9th | Discus throw | 63.14 m |
1996 | Olympic Games | Atlanta, United States | 15th (q) | Discus throw | 61.64 m |
1997 | World Championships | Athens, Greece | 8th | Discus throw | 63.06 m |
1998 | European Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 8th | Discus throw | 61.92 m |
World Cup | Johannesburg, South Africa | 5th | Discus throw | 64.39 m | |
Commonwealth Games | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 1st | Discus throw | 64.42 m | |
1999 | World Championships | Seville, Spain | 13th (q) | Discus throw | 62.71 m |
2000 | Olympic Games | Sydney, Australia | 28th (q) | Discus throw | 60.01 m |
2001 | World Championships | Edmonton, Canada | 15th (q) | Discus throw | 61.05 m |
2002 | Commonwealth Games | Manchester, United Kingdom | 3rd | Discus throw | 59.24 m |
European Championships | Munich, Germany | 21st (q) | Discus throw | 58.37 m | |
World Cup | Madrid, Spain | 7th | Discus throw | 58.91 m |
References
[edit]- ^ @JillianWeir (6 August 2022). "My dad, Robert Weir, won a bronze medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England and now 20 years later I have won a bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England 🏴🥉🇨🇦" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Olympic Profile". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
- ^ "1982 Athletes". Team England.
- ^ "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation.
- ^ "Robert Weir - Honoring The People | SMU Athletics Stories". SMU Athletics - Stories. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ "Robert Weir (2022) - Hall of Fame". SMU Athletics. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ UK All-Time Lists: Men - Throws - GBR Athletics
External links
[edit]- Robert Weir at World Athletics
- Profile at Sporting Heroes
- Youtube 1984 Olympics
- 1961 births
- Living people
- Athletes from Birmingham, West Midlands
- English male discus throwers
- British male discus throwers
- English male hammer throwers
- British male hammer throwers
- Olympic athletes for Great Britain
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England
- Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
- Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Birchfield Harriers
- People educated at Handsworth Grammar School
- FISU World University Games silver medalists for Great Britain
- Medalists at the 1983 Summer Universiade
- Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games
- Medallists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games
- Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
- Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
- NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
- SMU Mustangs men's track and field athletes
- NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners