London's 'WeirWolf' Wins 4th Gold

David Weir is home country's undisputed star of the Paralympics
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 9, 2012 9:55 AM CDT
London's 'WeirWolf' Wins 4th Gold
Britain's David Weir celebrates after winning the men's 800m T54 final at the 2012 Paralympics, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012, in London.    (Lefteris Pitarakis)

If you're looking for the star of London's Paralympics, look no further than British wheelchair racer David Weir. The man nicknamed the "Weirwolf of London" completed his clean sweep of golds today, timing his sprint finish to perfection to win the wheelchair marathon in 1 hour, 30 minutes, 20 seconds. Today's victory follows triumphs in the 800 meters, 1,500 meters, and 5,000 meters over the past week. "It's just amazing, I am lost for words," said the 33-year-old.

Weir, whose displays at the Olympic Stadium have been greeted by a so-called "Wall of Sound" from fans down the home straight. Many teammates also took a ritual of howling as he crossed the line, in reference to his nickname. "Every race I did in that stadium I didn't feel under pressure because the crowd was behind you if you won, lost or anything," said Weir. "It didn't matter what position you came in, they were still behind you and they still loved you." As the finish line came into sight, Weir was battling with Marcel Hug of Switzerland and Kurt Fearnley of Australia for gold. The Briton pulled away to win by a second in a season-best time. "I did have lots of dreams of winning four gold medals, but I think everybody has those dreams," Weir said. "I knew I was capable of doing it." (More Paralympics stories.)

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