Weir: Coach said I was a disgrace to my country
DAVID WEIR has revealed a senior British Athletics coach accused him of throwing a race and said he was a ‘disgrace to the country’ at the Rio Paralympics. The row ended in allegations that Jenni Banks, head of the wheelchair athletics programme, threw his racing chair across a room. German and Swiss athletes claim they saw Banks unleash her anger, with others saying they witnessed her throwing Weir’s wheelchair, worth £3,000. Australian Banks was cleared by a British Athletics investigation, as revealed by Sportsmail, leaving Weir fuming. The six-time Paralympic champion vowed never to race in a British vest again. The row happened after Great Britain’s 4x400m T53/54 relay team failed to make the final. ‘I came off the track and she came running over accusing me of sabotaging the team and doing it on purpose,’ said Weir. ‘She said I was a disgrace to the country and told me if I didn’t want to do the relay I should have said. To be accused of not Martha Kelner’s exclusive on Jan 18 putting 100 per cent in made me feel like s***. There were a few words thrown back and forwards, a lot of the teams saw what went on and they were absolutely disgusted with the way she spoke to me.’ Banks has declined to comment. Weir added: ‘I didn’t hear about the suggestion she’d thrown my chair until the day I flew home. I just laughed when I heard. I deserve a bit more respect. I’d never throw a race.’ Weir will not compete at the World Para Athletics Championships in London this summer after lighting up the 2012 Games with four golds. ‘I always wanted to finish at London 2017,’ said Weir. ‘I just felt that if Jenni Banks was still in the job it wouldn’t be fair on the other team members if there was an atmosphere.’ He will, however, chase a seventh London Marathon victory in April.