Robert Weir (athlete)

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.

Bob Weir
Personal information
NationalityEnglish
Born (1961-02-04) 4 February 1961
Birmingham, West Midlands
Sport
SportAthletics
ClubBirchfield Harriers, Birmingham
Medal record
Athletics
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 1982 Brisbane hammer
Gold medal – first place 1998 Kuala Lumpur discus
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Victoria discus
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Manchester discus

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  Great Britain and  England
1981 Universiade Bucharest, Romania 8th Discus throw 56.42 m
12th Hammer throw 64.56 m
1982 Commonwealth Games Brisbane, Australia 5th Discus throw 59.26 m
1st Hammer throw 75.08 m
1983 Universiade Edmonton, Canada 2nd Hammer throw 74.10 m
World Championships Helsinki, Finland 15th (q) Hammer throw 71.62 m
1984 Olympic Games Los Angeles, United States 10th Discus throw 61.36 m
8th Hammer throw 72.62 m
1993 World Championships Stuttgart, Germany 18th (q) Discus throw 59.74 m
1994 European Championships Helsinki, Finland 13th (q) Discus throw 57.18 m
Commonwealth Games Victoria, Canada 3rd Discus throw 60.86 m
1995 World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 9th Discus throw 63.14 m
1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, United States 15th (q) Discus throw 61.64 m
1997 World Championships Athens, Greece 8th Discus throw 63.06 m
1998 European Championships Budapest, Hungary 8th Discus throw 61.92 m
World Cup Johannesburg, South Africa 5th Discus throw 64.39 m
Commonwealth Games Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st Discus throw 64.42 m
1999 World Championships Seville, Spain 13th (q) Discus throw 62.71 m
2000 Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 28th (q) Discus throw 60.01 m
2001 World Championships Edmonton, Canada 15th (q) Discus throw 61.05 m
2002 Commonwealth Games Manchester, United Kingdom 3rd Discus throw 59.24 m
European Championships Munich, Germany 21st (q) Discus throw 58.37 m
World Cup Madrid, Spain 7th Discus throw 58.91 m

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
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