David Weir's Marathon Heartache

England’s premier wheelchair racer David Weir may have finished third at this year’s London marathon but the two times Paralympian was left with a feeling of regret.

Having led for more than 20 miles he was dealt a cruel blow when a front wheel puncture halted his progress. Although able to continue, he could not keep up his blistering speed and when a second puncture occurred on the back he was resigned to his fate.

“When I got the first puncture I had a good lead so I didn’t think anyone would be able to catch me,” describes the four time marathon winner. “When I saw the back one go I was just waiting for everyone to overtake me but they were taking ages so I thought I must have had a massive lead. They didn’t catch me until a mile out so I was actually pretty pleased with the result. I can’t explain just how difficult it was with two flat tyres.”

Although Weir was bitterly disappointed to not win a fifth title, it is testament to his drive that he was able to continue racing with two flat tyres. This determination comes from a lifetime of competing. At the age of eight he was entered into the London mini marathon and his love affair with racing began.

“At school I used to walk with the help of callipers and only really used a wheelchair to play sports. But once I had raced in a couple of events I caught the bug. I started competing in the London Youth Games and by the age of fourteen I was representing the Great Britain senior side.”

It was clear to all who met Weir that he was a natural. His coaches realised that he was born to race and before too long sent him to Europe to compete. Having beaten Britain’s best seniors when he was just a junior it was not until he travelled abroad that he realised the extent of the talent.�

“I found it pretty easy to beat the seniors in England and it wasn’t until I went to other countries that I suddenly realised how hard I needed to train. They really inspired me and I have always strived since that moment to be the best.”

Weir admits that it is his fear of losing that drives him to succeed. As well as his London marathon titles he has six Paralympic medals to his name and is the holder of multiple British records including his favoured event, the 1500m. This does not mean that the 31 year-old is planning on retiring any time soon.�

With the London Paralympics just over two years away his focus is on winning more medals in front of an expectant home crowd. “ I have grown up in London and I think the pressure will really be on come the start of the games. Everyone is getting faster and they all want to beat me but hopefully if I get one medal then I will relax and can win a couple more.”

Weir has previously won medals in every track event but confides that it may be too much to attempt all six distances. Instead he plans to race in the 800m, 1500m and the 5000m.

“It’s impossible to do all of those events as you have guys that specialise in one distance and they are very quick. We are doing the 1500m in under three minutes which is seriously fast. I am generally pretty confident going into a race, especially if I know that I have been training hard. I will see how training goes over the next couple of years but I am getting too old to do every race.”

Although Weir jokes about his age catching up with him he is showing no sign of relaxing. On May 16th he takes part in the Great Manchester Run and then on May 25th the Paralympic World Cup starts.

“The Manchester 10k will be good fun as I do that distance everyday in training and it’s a really nice event. At the World Cup I am taking part in the 800m and the 1500m so I am hoping to win both of those.”

With two gold medals to his name, four London marathon wins and having been awarded the MBE in 2009, is there anything left for Weir to achieve?

“I want to win the New York marathon which takes place in November. Going into the London marathon I felt fantastic, it was the most confident I have ever felt. If I can continue to keep up that sort of pace then hopefully I can win.”

Considering his numerous achievements there seems to be only one likely winner come the New York marathon, and that is David Weir.