David Weir believes he’s ready to go faster than ever at the Paris Paralympics thanks to a mystery benefactor who bought him a state-of-the-art racing wheelchair.
It’s fair to say Weir, a six-time Paralympic champion, has cut a disillusioned figure at recent Games.
After his three golds in London, he was left raging in Rio, claiming a member of the team accused him of ‘throwing a race’ and vowing never compete for Britain again.
Back five years later in Tokyo, he was well off the pace, insisting he’d never compete on the track again as he couldn’t be competitive with Switzerland’s Marcel Hug, because of a lack of investment in his racing chair.
There’s always been a sense that Weir is fuelled by a raging sense of injustice, whether it’s lack of recognition, lack of prize money or lack of respect.
He is one of those athletes that can’t be media trained, now competing at his seventh Paralympics he’s certainly earned the right to say what he likes.
But Weir, now 45, is in a more reflective mood as he looks towards three events in Paris, the 1500m, 5000m and marathon and perhaps that’s because he feels finally on a level-playing field in a sport where the appliance of science can be critical.
Hug worked with a consortium of engineering teams including the Formula One company Sauber to design a chair that made him unstoppable in Tokyo, winning four golds, sometimes by a margin so whooping you’d need a telescope to see the silver medallist.
Meanwhile, an increasingly frustrated Weir was racing in ten-year old aluminium chair, while Hug flew in high-tech carbon fibre, benefitting from a power-to-weight ratio that gave him such an advantage the rest were racing for the minor medals.
“Other countries have gone away from us,” he moaned. “It’s not all down to the chair but it helps a lot.”
However, a call after last year’s London Marathon – in which Weir finished nine minutes behind his rival – changed everything.
“It really changed everything that one call and I couldn’t be more grateful,” said Weir, who is keeping the name of his supporter to himself.
“It’s really helped me mentally, it’s a joy to be in, it’s a piece of machinery made especially for me, it’s the best chair I’ve ever raced in.
“I’ve enjoyed training so much in the last eight or nine months. Marcel wiped us all out in Tokyo because he had this chair that had been under wraps, now I feel like I’m competitive.
“I didn’t think I’d do another Games after London but I had a year off and decide to have a crack at Rio and then I saw still around at Tokyo too.
“I always feel like I’m chasing something but this Games I feel I’ve prepared as well as I could have done.
“I’ve worked so hard to get back in the top three in the world, a few years ago I probably wouldn’t be in the top 20 and I’m pretty proud of myself.”
Weir and Hug’s rivalry has dominated wheelchair racing for more than a decade but the two are surprisingly close, with the Brit a regular visitor to training camps in the Swiss Alps.
“We’re great friends, I can’t say a bad word about him. I’ve trained a lot with him this year and we enjoy doing camps together,” he added.
“Him and his team have always been very open and they want the sport to do well. I’ve been one of his biggest rivals for years but he’s got a lot of respect for me and I have for him. We’ve both pushed each other but he’s going to be hard to beat, he’s a phenomenal athlete.”
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