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| Nationality | British (Welsh) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 3 April 1963 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Club | Presteigne BC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Robert Arthur Weale (born in Hereford on 3 April 1963), is a Welsh international lawn and indoor bowls player. [1] Weale is originally from Presteigne and was educated at John Beddoes School, but now lives in Hereford. In 2022, he was inducted into the Welsh Sports Hall of fame. [1] In 2025, he was inducted into the Inaugural World Bowls Hall of Fame.
Weale made his international debut in 1982. He was the youngest competitor in the 1984 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Aberdeen, where he competed in the triples and fours events. [2]
Weale's career-best performance came in January 2000, when he won the 2000 World Indoor Bowls Championship singles title at Potters. [3] Just a few months later, Weale won the men's fours title at the 2000 World Outdoor Bowls Championship, in Johannesburg in April 2000. [4]
Weale has won six Commonwealth Games medals achieved from eight successive games, a record. The achievement of winning medals over eight games is a record for a lawn bowls player and equals the record for a competitor across all sports. Weale was given the honour of carrying the Welsh flag & led the Welsh team out at the 1998 opening ceremony and he carried the Welsh flag during the 2010 closing ceremony. [5]
Weale won his first Welsh National Bowls Championships singles in 2000 and subsequently won the singles at the British Isles Bowls Championships in 2001. [6] He won his second Welsh singles title in 2005 before winning a third in August 2012, defeating Paul Taylor of Bridgend 21-11. He also skipped the Weale family quartet to the Welsh outdoor fours title, on eight occasions. [7] The Weale bowling family includes his three brothers (all former national champions) Brian, David and Stuart, sister-in-law Joanna Weale and daughter Rhiannon. [8]
He has also won the Welsh Indoor singles on three occasions. [2] In August 2005, he created a record by becoming the only man to hold both titles simultaneously.
