2nd May 2020

2002 THROWBACK: WEIR WINS FIRST LONDON MARATHON TITLE

In 2002, David Weir broke through on the marathon scene, winning the London Marathon for the first time, an event he has gone onto to win a further seven times since.

Weir – at the age of 22 – was the youngest competitor in the field, but that did not faze him as he captured his maiden title at the prestigious fixture in the calendar. It was the start of a prolific run at the event, and he went into the record books in 2018 when he won his eighth title, becoming the most decorated winner in its history.

He made his debut at the London Marathon in 2000 where is finished in fifth place, and improved upon that during the following year, reaching the top three which preceded his triumph in 2002.

Weir would also compete at the IPC Athletics World Championships in Lille during the summer, placing fifth in the T54 200m and 400m.

At that championship, there was success for two other athletes, who like Weir, are still competing to the highest level today.

Stephen Miller, fresh from two Paralympic titles in Atlanta and Sydney, was the clear winner in the F32 club throw, setting a world record (at the time) of 31.29 metres to seal another global title to add to his growing list of achievements.

Miller – who won world bronze in London 15 years after this triumph – was also among the medals in the discus at the 2002 edition of the championships, sealing the bronze.

Also in the field, Dan Greaves, a name well-known to athletics fans in the UK, won his first world title which kickstarted a decorated career in the sport.

His gold in the F44 discus built upon his silver medal at the Paralympics two years earlier and was a huge confidence boost to the 19-year-old who would later go on to further Paralympic, world and European success.

There were several British gold medallists at the 2002 championships from Noel Thatcher winning the T12 5000m title, as well as a silver in the 10,000m, while Lloyd Upsdell and Deborah Brennan were double gold medallists at the Stade Nord Lille Metropole.