Weirwolf (23 page)

But within a couple of weeks of London finishing I started to change my mind. Deep down I had always hoped, perhaps even expected, to win in London. But in the end I didn’t just scrape home by the skin of my teeth – I blew the opposition away. No one really got close to me. Suddenly, London wasn’t the end of my Paralympic journey. I knew I had a lot more to offer. Maybe I won’t be able to go to Rio and win four golds again, but I am sure I can win at least one. If I manage that at the age of thirty-seven it will be a massive achievement. Even my performances in 2013 have given me confidence. The times might not be brilliant but no one has really been flying. I know I can still be a contender.

I had to tell Emily what was going through my head. In a few weeks’ time we would have another baby to deal with and the impact on us as a family would be enormous. One night, I was sitting downstairs in the living room watching some TV. Emily was upstairs putting Mason to bed. My stomach flipped over as I prepared to deliver my bombshell.

‘I am thinking about going to Rio,’ I told her. At first she didn’t say anything but I could tell she had been expecting something like this. ‘So, what do you think?’

‘I think you should definitely do it,’ she said, smiling. ‘In fact, I want you to do it.’

And that was that. No drama, no fuss. Decision made. We both smiled and I gave her a big cuddle. She had seen the way I won in London. Like me, she knew it was a game changer.

I also know that I won’t be under the same sort of
pressure
that I faced in the build-up to London. Of course I will want to do well and win in Brazil, but I won’t feel like I am carrying the world on my shoulders.

It was so nice for me to watch the 2013 World Championships in Lyon and see the team doing so well without me. Normally we have a bit of a dip after a Paralympics but this time there wasn’t one. The British team won eleven gold medals. That showed we have some real strength in depth and that gives me a greater sense of freedom. But seeing the team do so brilliantly in France relit my competitive fire. It made me hungry to compete again at the highest level. I hadn’t expected that. On Channel 4 the
presenters kept trying to wind me up. Marcel Hug had a brilliant Championships and performed amazingly. As his medal count grew, they kept having little digs.

‘I wonder if Dave Weir is watching?’ they asked.

I tweeted my reply.

‘Don’t worry, I’m watching. I’ll be back.’

T54 is for athletes competing in wheelchair racing events. T54 competitors have little or no impairment of their arm and shoulder functions – pertinent for pushing a wheelchair – but have partial trunk and leg function.

I
owe thanks to so many people who have helped me in my racing career. Where do I start?

I have no doubt that without Jenny I wouldn’t be where I am today, and I would not have been able to achieve everything that I have without her help and support. This is something I shall always be grateful to her for.

During my training pre-London 2012, Jenny
introduced
a team of cyclists. Included in the team are Alan and Stewart, and I would just like to take this opportunity to thank them for their hard work. They made me push my training regime to another level.

The Weir Archer Academy is my legacy: I simply want to pass on knowledge and experience to the next
generation
of disabled athletes. Our ambition is to work with other top-class coaches, and to support our staff to deliver their innovative, unsurpassed method to as many athletes as possible, from club to elite level. I would like to thank Camilla and Sam for making my dream a reality. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my friends at St Mary’s University for their support over the past few years; they know who they are.

I must also mention that without my sponsors I would not be able to follow my dream and compete at the level that I do today. Their support is invaluable.

I owe a great many thanks to the people behind this book: without them it would not have been possible. Thanks and appreciation to David Bond, who has worked with me to ensure that my story is told in my own way; to Charlie Campbell at Ed Victor; to the publishers, Biteback; and to my agents, Definitive Sports Management.

London 2012 was special. My Team GB mates, namely Dan Greaves and Aled Davies MBE, were with me every step of the way – quite simply, thanks boys!

My brothers and my friends are also very special people, very close to me. There are too many friends to mention individually, but they know who they are: thanks, guys, for always being there when it counts!

Finally, and most importantly, I would like to thank my fiancée, Emily. Without her encouragement, patience and love over the past few years I wouldn’t be the man I am today. I also thank my mum and dad, Jackie and David, for their faith in me and for allowing me to follow my dream. It was under their watchful eye that I gained so much drive and ability to tackle challenges head on; thanks to them my dream was achieved.

D
avid Bond is the BBC’s sports editor and fronted BBC News’s widely applauded coverage of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Before joining the BBC he was the sports editor of the
Daily Telegraph
and has also worked for the London
Evening Standard
and the
Sunday Times.
Over the last three years, he has covered the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the FIFA corruption affair and
cricket
’s spot-fixing. He has always focused on the stories behind sport – the movers and shakers who run the show; the big money deals; and the scandals which have come to shape and dominate what is, today, a multi-billion-pound
business
. David is forty, is married to Lucy, lives in south-west London and has two children, Max and Willow Clemency.

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