Weir in top shape for rematch with rival Hug
Six-times champion David Weir today claimed he in better condition ahead of his Virgin Money London Marathon rematch with Marcel Hug on Sunday than he was before the London Paralympics three years ago.
Weir famously won four gold medals for Britain at the 2012 Games, including the marathon, but Hug has since become world champion at the 26.2-mile distance and denied Weir a record seventh London title 12 months ago when he outsprinted the Briton by one second on The Mall.
The rivalry between Weir and Hug will be renewed on Sunday when they compete for their countries in the T53/54 race of the IPC Athletics Marathon World Championships, for which Hug is the reigning title holder.
At 35, Weir has six years extra experience on the 29-year-old Swiss, but if the race ends with another sprint finish, Weir believes he will have the strength to battle it out to the line.
“The tests say I’m in good shape,” said Weir today. “In fact, they’re better than they were in 2012. I have to keep improving because guys like Marcel are younger and it’s the up and coming guys who keep me going.”
While they are friends off the road, they are tough competitors on it. Their quiet nature, styles and finishing times are very similar. So is their passion to be at the top of their game.
While Weir dominated London 2012, Hug has since snatched the number one spot in their category, winning five golds at the 2013 World Championships in Lille, and last Monday added the Boston marathon title to the London Marathon crown from 2014.
“Last year’s win gave me a lot of encouragement,” said Hug. “The good memories from last year gives me a lot of motivation in my training and I look forward to the rivalry with David when we’re pushing ourselves to the limit.”
It’s the same for Weir, who joked that his training team includes cyclists who “wear a photo of Marcel to make me go harder”.
After two years without a win here, the Briton may feel he has the edge this time after beating Hug by less than a second at the Lisbon half marathon in March. He also skipped the Boston Marathon with a minor virus, which was possibly a blessing in disguise.
“I should be a little fresher,” Weir said. “But these are professional athletes and they won’t compromise their performance here – they’re not going to suffer for this IPC World Championship marathon.”
This is Weir’s 15th London Marathon, but he claims to as eager as ever as he chases a seventh title to take him past Tanni Grey-Thompson as the most successful London Marathon champion of all.
“I still have the hunger,” he said. “In 2012 I put so much pressure on myself and it took me a long time to recover. I felt I’d achieved the ultimate challenge of winning four golds in my home country.”
As well as the world championship gold, there is an added incentive for both athletes this year thanks to the London Marathon’s decision to increase prize money for the wheelchair races by a total of $16,250.
And last week, the Abbott World Marathon Majors announced that it is expanding its series to include elite wheelchair athletes, with $50,000 on offer to the male and female winners over a 12-month period.
In such an expensive sport, where equipment can cost thousands of pounds, better prize money is crucial to an athlete’s career, as Weir acknowledged.
“This is our job, so of course the money is a big factor,” he said. “I’m still going to be around for a couple more years to challenge for the extra funding.”
With the focus now moving to the Rio Paralympics in 2016, Weir has set about finding more young champions to take over his mantle. The Weir Archer Academy he set up with his coach Jenny Archer plays an important role in finding those future Weirs.
“It was an idea I had after Beijing with the loss of so many British athletes in our team,” Weir said. “I wanted to build the GB team again to greatness. I’ve got a couple of athletes in the race on Sunday and I hope we can push through the next generation.”
