Weir in "great shape" ahead of Paralympic games (From Sutton Guardian)

Wallington Paralympic legend going for more gold

11:36am Tuesday 28th August 2012 in News By James Pepper

Wallington Paralympic legend David Weir says he is in great shape ahead of his fourth games.

Weir, 33, will begin his quest for his seventh Paralympic games medal when he takes to the track on Friday (August 31).

After a hugely successful Beijing 2008, where the lad from the Roundshaw Estate picked up a remarkable medal haul of two golds, a silver and a bronze, Weir is now hoping to add to the medal count in front of a home crowd.

He said: ""Physically I feel in great shape and my preparations have been great. But T54 wheelchair racing is the toughest class in the world at the moment."

"To get four medals will be tough. The standards have jumped another level in the last four years. I’ll just take each race as it comes and see what happens."

Although modest about his chances of repeating his heroics of four years ago, Weir will be among the favourites in the T54 800m and 1500m, both races in which he claimed gold in Beijing.

He said: "I'm here to do a job and that's to win a gold medal."

Weir will be competing in the T54 800m, 1500m, 5000m and the final event of the games - the marathon.

The prospect of being roared past Buckingham Palace on the final stretch of the marathon is a huge motivation for the man who was given the freedom of Sutton four years ago.

The current, and six-time London marathon winner, said: "I seem to deal with the pressure pretty well. Every time I do the London Marathon people assume I'm going to turn up and win, and I've dealt with that situation, it's just another race for me."

"Having the crowd cheering you on should get you the performance you're looking for."

"It's a bit of a pressure cooker competing at home, but I think a lot of athletes will thrive off it."