Britain’s Six-time Paralympic Champion David Weir has officially called time on his Great Britain career after criticising British Athletics on Twitter and claiming he had been “let down again”.
The 37-year-old previously expressed frustration with the British Athletics camp during Rio, stating that he had been “stabbed in the back” after his marathon attempt ended in a crash after 5km in which forced him to withdraw.
This also came after he had failed retain any medals in the four events he previously won gold in during the London 2012 Paralympics, with Weir himself admitting a sole medal would have been “a massive achievement”
Despite claiming on twitter he had “discussed what happened in Rio” with British Athletics on 21st November, their issues seemingly remain unresolved, meaning Weir will no longer compete in a British vest.
I have been let down again.
— David Weir CBE (@davidweir2012) 17 January 2017
Today is the day I officially retire from GB I will never put a shirt on again.#thanksBritishAthletics what a joke.
— David Weir CBE (@davidweir2012) 17 January 2017
Weir has so far declined to reveal any more details of his issues with British Athletics, however 11-time Paralympic Gold medallist Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson has previously talked to BBC Radio 5 Live about Weir’s struggles.
“It sounds like the village setup wasn’t quite what he wanted.” she suggested “He talks about feeling isolated – he feels separate from the rest of the team.
“But I think what the team need to do is listen to Dave and listen to his concerns, because if an athlete of his level is not happy you have to listen. As an ex-athlete it’s really hard to hear him say he feels stabbed in the back.”
The four-time World Champion will still compete in this year’s London marathon on 23rd April, in which he plans to “bow out where it all started” by attempting to complete a 7th London Marathon victory.
