Weir eyes Tokyo marathon after U-turn

Six-time Paralympic champion wheelchair racer David Weir has banished suicidal thoughts to make a U-turn on his vow never to race for Great Britain again.

The 39-year-old, pictured, won four Paralympic gold medals at London 2012, but endured a difficult Rio 2016 and promptly retired from international competition. Weir quit track events in 2017, but won a record eighth London Marathon in April and is targeting the 26.2-mile event at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

“I’m going to make sure I get to Tokyo, put the GB vest on and feel very proud to wear it like I did in 1996 [his Paralympic debut], Weir told the BBC. “I said I’d never wear the vest again. I’m going back on my word, but if I can still deliver and win a medal like I think I can, then why not?” Weirsayshe“wasverybitter aboutwhathappenedin Rio”, when he missed the birth of his fourth child, didn’t perform as he had hoped and he claimed a coach accused him of not trying in a relay. “I wanted to jack life in to be honest,” added Weir, who split from his partner and moved out the family home he shared with his kids.