Robert Boyd Weir (born 4 February 1961) 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 three Olympic Games and strongman competitions.
Biography Weir attended Handsworth Grammar School in Birmingham and studied at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas attaining a degree in Business Studies in 1983.
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. 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. 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.
Representing the SMU Mustangs track and field team, Weir won the 1983 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the hammer throw.
Weir was 12-times British discus throw champion after winning the British AAA Championships title or by virtue of being the highest placed British athlete from 1981 to 1984, 1993, 1995 to 2000 and 2002.
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 .UK All-Time Lists: Men - Throws - GBR Athletics
Family Weir was born in England to Jamaican parents. 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.
International competitions Representing and 1981Universiade Bucharest, Romania8thDiscus throw56.42 m12thHammer throw64.56 m1982Commonwealth GamesBrisbane, Australia5thDiscus throw59.26 m 1stHammer throw75.08 m1983Universiade Edmonton, Canada 2ndHammer throw74.10 mWorld Championships Helsinki, Finland15th (q)Hammer throw71.62 m1984Olympic GamesLos Angeles, United States10thDiscus throw61.36 m8thHammer throw72.62 m1993World ChampionshipsStuttgart, Germany18th (q)Discus throw59.74 m1994European Championships Helsinki, Finland13th (q)Discus throw57.18 mCommonwealth GamesVictoria, Canada 3rdDiscus throw60.86 m1995World ChampionshipsGothenburg, Sweden9thDiscus throw63.14 m1996Olympic GamesAtlanta, United States15th (q)Discus throw61.64 m1997World ChampionshipsAthens, Greece8thDiscus throw63.06 m1998European ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary8thDiscus throw61.92 mWorld CupJohannesburg, South Africa5thDiscus throw64.39 mCommonwealth GamesKuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1stDiscus throw64.42 m1999World Championships Seville, Spain13th (q)Discus throw62.71 m2000Olympic GamesSydney, Australia28th (q)Discus throw60.01 m2001World Championships Edmonton, Canada15th (q)Discus throw61.05 m2002Commonwealth GamesManchester, United Kingdom 3rdDiscus throw59.24 mEuropean ChampionshipsMunich, Germany21st (q)Discus throw58.37 mWorld CupMadrid, Spain7thDiscus throw58.91 m
References
External links
Profile at Sporting Heroes Youtube 1984 Olympics