Weirwolf quits GB team over chair fury

PARALYMPIC icon David Weir has vowed never to compete for Britain again after it was claimed a female coach threw his £3,000 racing wheelchair across a room following a furious row. The six-time champion branded British Athletics a ‘joke’ when he learned they had failed to uphold a complaint alleging that Jenni Banks, head of the wheelchair racing programme, hurled his carbon fibre chair in anger after a bust-up at last summer’s Rio Paralympics. There was already bad blood between the pair after Banks was appointed in 2013 ahead of Weir’s long-time coach Jenny Archer, Weir, 37, who lit up London 2012 by winning four gold medals, was left disgusted yesterday after discovering by email that the complaint — which was made by another athlete who claimed to have witnessed the alleged incident — had been dismissed apparently for lack of evidence. Weir (above) tweeted: ‘Today is the day I officially retire from GB. I will never put a shirt on again. Thanks British Athletics, what a joke.’ Weir will not take part in the London 2017 Para Athletics World Championships, instead retiring after attempting to win his seventh London Marathon title on April 23. He had cut a disconsolate figure after withdrawing from the marathon in Rio following a crash, bringing the curtain down on his final Paralympics. It meant ‘Weirwolf ’ left Brazil empty-handed after failing to defend his four titles from the London Olympics. During a debrief with journalists following his poor performance, an unhappy Weir had said: ‘I just felt I was stabbed in the back a lot,’ but declined to elaborate. Banks, meanwhile, was unavailable for comment last night. A British Athletics spokeswoman said: ‘While David first indicated in Rio he would not compete for GB again, British Athletics staff met with him last autumn to encourage him to be part of a memorable home World Championships in 2017. ‘However, he further met with our Paralympic head coach early last week where he confirmed he would not be returning to international competition.’