Robert Weir (athlete)

Last updated

Bob Weir
Personal information
NationalityEnglish
Born (1961-02-04) 4 February 1961 (age 63)
Birmingham, West Midlands
Sport
SportAthletics
ClubBirchfield Harriers, Birmingham
Medal record
Athletics
Representing Flag of England.svg  England
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1982 Brisbane hammer
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1998 Kuala Lumpur discus
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1994 Victoria discus
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2002 Manchester discus

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.

Contents

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

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

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]

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 . [5]

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain and Flag of England.svg  England
1981 Universiade Bucharest, Romania 8thDiscus throw 56.42 m
12thHammer throw 64.56 m
1982 Commonwealth Games Brisbane, Australia5thDiscus throw 59.26 m
1stHammer throw 75.08 m
1983 Universiade Edmonton, Canada2ndHammer throw 74.10 m
World Championships Helsinki, Finland15th (q)Hammer throw 71.62 m
1984 Olympic Games Los Angeles, United States 10thDiscus throw 61.36 m
8thHammer throw 72.62 m
1993 World Championships Stuttgart, Germany18th (q)Discus throw 59.74 m
1994 European Championships Helsinki, Finland13th (q)Discus throw 57.18 m
Commonwealth Games Victoria, Canada 3rdDiscus throw 60.86 m
1995 World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden9thDiscus throw 63.14 m
1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, United States15th (q)Discus throw 61.64 m
1997 World Championships Athens, Greece8thDiscus throw 63.06 m
1998 European Championships Budapest, Hungary8thDiscus throw 61.92 m
World Cup Johannesburg, South Africa5thDiscus throw 64.39 m
Commonwealth Games Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia1stDiscus throw 64.42 m
1999 World Championships Seville, Spain13th (q)Discus throw 62.71 m
2000 Olympic Games Sydney, Australia28th (q)Discus throw 60.01 m
2001 World Championships Edmonton, Canada15th (q)Discus throw 61.05 m
2002 Commonwealth Games Manchester, United Kingdom3rdDiscus throw 59.24 m
European Championships Munich, Germany21st (q)Discus throw 58.37 m
World Cup Madrid, Spain7thDiscus throw 58.91 m

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References

  1. @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.
  2. "Olympic Profile". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
  3. "1982 Athletes". Team England.
  4. "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation.
  5. UK All-Time Lists: Men - Throws - GBR Athletics