Paralympics heroes Jonnie Peacock and David Weir miss out on London return
Sunday 26 July 2015 19:57, UK
Paralympic champions Jonnie Peacock and David Weir were unable to repeat their triumphs of London 2012 on their return to the Olympic Stadium for the final day of the Anniversary Games.
Amputee sprinter Peacock was beaten in the T44 100m by American rival Richard Browne, who secured victory in 10.96secs to extend his winning run to 23 races, as Peacock came home second in 11.02secs.
Wheelchair racer Weir, who claimed three golds on the same track three years ago and another in the marathon, had to settle for fifth in the T54 1,500m in 3:04.80 as Switzerland's Marcel Hug claimed victory.
Both Peacock and Weir have work to do ahead of the IPC World Championships in Doha in late October but Peacock, in his first Paralympic race of the year, was encouraged by his performance.
"I'm a lot happier than I thought I would be. I got the first 10m and last 20m wrong," he said.
"If you look at my races last year, I was getting out on Richard and he was pulling me back. Today he got out on me and I pulled him back.
"I just lost my composure a little bit and let him have it.
"People are going to go unbeaten, but at the end of the day it will come round that people will get beaten. I'm not worried."
Defeat for Weir was his first at the Olympic Stadium outside of heats and he revealed afterwards his preparation had been affected by a shoulder injury and then tonsillitis.
His main focus is the New York Marathon on November 1, but he confirmed he would still compete over 1,500m in Doha even if he is not "track fit".
"That wasn't too bad for me. I only started feeling right this week," said Weir.
"I need a good month to get back to where I want to be. Sometimes I do better when I am losing, then I bounce back when it counts."
A crowd of 20,000 were at the stadium to watch the IPC Athletics Grand Prix Final, which also featured wins for Paralympic champions Hannah Cockroft in the T34 400m and Richard Whitehead in the T42 200m.
Commonwealth champion Libby Clegg came home first in the T12 200m, while two British competitors secured world records.
Georgina Hermitage clocked 1:02.48 to win the T37 400m, while Sophie Hahn crossed the line first in the T38 100m in 13.00.
