David Weir has won almost everything in his 22-year career: eight London Marathons, six world championship titles, six Paralympic gold medals, but never a Commonwealth Games marathon. He has a Commonwealth medal, a gold in the 1500m in Glasgow in 2014 and was determined to win a second to go with it. He is 43 years old and knew this might be his last chance to do it.
Seventy minutes into the race, it was clear he was going to do it. Weir had a 90-second lead over the field with six miles or so to go. And that’s when the left tire on his wheelchair blew.
“Oh no,” he said as he slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road. Soon after, his teammate, Johnboy Smith, had passed him. Smith, 32, called out to ask Weir what had happened and swore loudly when he found out. “I didn’t want to win by default,” Smith said.
He figured he could catch Weir and resented being robbed of the chance to make a run for it. Behind him, Weir finished seventh, 24 minutes behind Smith. He received a standing ovation when he finished. “Where I come from,” he said, “don’t give up.”
Weir wasn’t sure how it happened, he hadn’t hit anything and they were new tires too. He was left cursing himself. He never carries spares, worried it will be a headache. “But the last few weeks I just had a feeling something like this was going to happen. I even told my wife I might bring a spare, I brought the CO2 tanks and everything, and all week I I asked: ‘do I have to wear it?’”.
At the starting line, Weir said, he was still reaching into his bag and wondering whether or not to take his gear. He decided not to. “I should have gone with my gut.”
I was convinced I had enough of a lead to make the switch and get back into the race. “Even if John had caught me, I could have made it to a sprint.” I was completely down.
England’s Johnboy Smith after winning gold in the men’s T53/54 marathon. Photograph: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
Weir has spoken openly about how badly depression has affected him in the past, particularly after the Rio Paralympics in 2016. He had a bad time at the Tokyo Games last year and had clearly invested a lot in the idea of winning here. “I feel desperate,” he said, “and I’ve never felt despair in a race before.”
In its own way, Smith’s win was a reminder of all that Weir has achieved in his career. Smith, a journeyman, was paralyzed at the age of 16 when he was shot in the back by a farmer who he mistakenly believed was robbing him. The farmer was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm.
Smith began competing in weightlifting, then moved on to throwing events after being inspired by the London Paralympics in 2012. She then decided to switch back to wheelchair racing. He wasn’t sure how to start so he wrote “where does David Weir train?” to Google and from there.
He ended up at the Weir Archer Academy, which Weir runs with his coach, Jenny Archer. Weir took one look at Smith and told him he needed to lose four stone and be back in six months if he was serious. Smith did, and they’ve been training and competing together ever since.
“I’ve had a lot of support, don’t get me wrong,” said Smith, “but I’m not a working-class nobody. I don’t have a gym membership, I work out in a single garage in the back of my garden with a leaky roof and a set of rusty dumbbells. But I have a gold medal around my neck. Nothing is impossible. Believe it. Aim high, dream big, it can be done. I’m proof.”
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Behind Smith, Scotland’s Sean Frame won the silver medal and England’s Simon Lawson won the bronze. England’s Eden Rainbow-Cooper won silver in the women’s event, behind Australia’s Madison de Rozario.
The crowds were strong for all of them, which seemed to be a testament to the effect Weir’s performances at London 2012 have had on para-sport in this country.
“Don’t write David Weir off,” Smith said. “He is not an old man, he is a supreme athlete. If Her Majesty the Queen is watching or listening, knight her. He deserves to be Sir David Weir.”