Robert Weir (athlete) explained

Bob Weir
Nationality:English
Birth Date:4 February 1961
Birth Place:Birmingham, West Midlands
Sport:Athletics
Club:Birchfield Harriers, Birmingham

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

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]

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

Representing and
1981Bucharest, Romania8thDiscus throw56.42 m
12thHammer throw64.56 m
1982Commonwealth GamesBrisbane, Australia5thDiscus throw59.26 m
1stHammer throw75.08 m
1983Edmonton, Canada2ndHammer throw74.10 m
Helsinki, Finland15th (q)Hammer throw71.62 m
1984Olympic GamesLos Angeles, United States10thDiscus throw61.36 m
8thHammer throw72.62 m
1993World ChampionshipsStuttgart, Germany18th (q)Discus throw59.74 m
1994Helsinki, Finland13th (q)Discus throw57.18 m
Commonwealth GamesVictoria, Canada3rdDiscus throw60.86 m
1995World ChampionshipsGothenburg, Sweden9thDiscus throw63.14 m
1996Olympic GamesAtlanta, United States15th (q)Discus throw61.64 m
1997World ChampionshipsAthens, Greece8thDiscus throw63.06 m
1998European ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary8thDiscus throw61.92 m
World CupJohannesburg, South Africa5thDiscus throw64.39 m
Commonwealth GamesKuala Lumpur, Malaysia1stDiscus throw64.42 m
1999Seville, Spain13th (q)Discus throw62.71 m
2000Olympic GamesSydney, Australia28th (q)Discus throw60.01 m
2001Edmonton, Canada15th (q)Discus throw61.05 m
2002Commonwealth GamesManchester, United Kingdom3rdDiscus throw59.24 m
European ChampionshipsMunich, Germany21st (q)Discus throw58.37 m
World CupMadrid, Spain7thDiscus throw58.91 m

External links

Notes and References

  1. JillianWeir. 1556063331810680834. 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 .
  2. Web site: Olympic Profile. https://web.archive.org/web/20200418042734/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sy/graham-sykes-1.html. dead. 2020-04-18. Sports Reference.
  3. Web site: 1982 Athletes. Team England.
  4. Web site: Athletes and results. Commonwealth Games Federation.
  5. Web site: Robert Weir - Honoring The People SMU Athletics Stories . 2024-05-17 . SMU Athletics - Stories . en-US.
  6. Web site: Robert Weir (2022) - Hall of Fame . 2024-05-17 . SMU Athletics . en.
  7. http://www.gbrathletics.com/uk/mf99.htm UK All-Time Lists: Men - Throws