David Weir targets five gold medals at Rio
Saturday 23 July 2016 15:46, UK
David Weir wants to better his London 2012 triumph by targeting five gold medals at this year's Paralympics.
The 37-year-old revealed he would be taking part in five events but would be remaining tight-lipped over exactly which five they would be.
Weir won four gold medals in the T54 800m, 1500m, 5000m and marathon in 2012, but was edged into third place by Swiss rival Marcel Hug and fellow Briton Richard Chiassaro when he competed in the T54 1500m at the Anniversary Games on Saturday.
Speaking afterwards, the Briton said: "I will be in full swing for Rio. Preparations are okay. I still came third, I am still hitting top speed even though my arms are dead from training.
"I am going for five events (in Rio), not sure which ones. I am not saying which five.
"The amount of training I do, the racing I do, it's only two races a day, maybe three."
There was a new world record for Weir's fellow Paralympic champion Richard Whitehead in the T42 200m, who marked his 40th birthday in the week by storming home in 23.03secs.
However, not content with his record, Whitehead said he was hoping to run even faster at the Paralympics in September.
"I'm going to 22 (seconds) in Rio, I'll put that out there. I want to come back with gold in the 100 and the 200," he said.
There was a world record of 24.44 for Libby Clegg in the T11 200m, the visually-impaired sprinter racing with a blindfold for the first time following her reclassification from a T12 athlete.
"I am absolutely gobsmacked at how I have performed, I can't believe it," she said. "I have been getting better and better with every race and I'm loving every minute of it so far."
