Weir on course for awesome foursome after racing to second gold of Games in 1500m
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David Weir brought the house down by completing part two of a possible Paralympic quadruple with another glorious gold at the Olympic Stadium.
The wheelchair racer could not have got his tactics more right as he showed no signs of tiredness from his 5,000 metres triumph two days earlier to successfully defend his T54 1500m title.
The 33-year-old was content to tuck in just off the lead for most of the race before hitting the front with around 300m to go and then holding off his rivals down the home straight to deafening cheers.
Moment of glory: Britain's David Weir celebrates after winning the men's 1500m final T54
Last push: Weir (second right) leads as he heads for the finishing line at the Olympics Stadium
He crossed the line in three minutes 12.09 seconds, producing a 44.84-second last lap to finish 0.23secs ahead of Thailand's Prawat Wahoram.
Weir's success made it six gold medals for Great Britain's athletes on just the fifth day of competition.
Fresh as a daisy: Weir showed no signs of tiredness from his 5,000 metres triumph two days earlier
Weir told Channel 4: 'I'm very proud. A shock really because the field in the 1500 this year's been so strong and I've only won a couple of races so coming in this race I was probably only fourth fastest on paper.
'But the training I'd done I knew I had lots of top speed and on the warm-up track was I even quicker on the top speed which was probably because I wasn't so nervous tonight.
'The plan was - by me and Jenny (Archer, coach) - was to hopefully win on the first night and I did, so you get more relaxed. Once you've got one under your belt you start to relax and do your talking on the track really.'
Weir has been training with pro cyclists at Richmond Park and he said: 'The guys have been a massive help. They have taken me up to another level I didn't think I had.
Flying start: Weir made it six gold medals for Great Britain's athletes on just the fifth day of competition
'Jenny put the (training) plan together. She said we were going to start on the road because I can get more intensity on the road and it's paying off because my speed is far better than everyone else's.
'My mum's here. My dad's here. He's never seen me race in a big stadium before so it's nice to have him here. My friends are over in the corner and there's the big 'Weir Army' flag -it's amazing.'
Asked about his British team-mates celebrating with werewolf howls, Weir said: 'There's a tune on the internet about a werewolf and London and they've adopted it to me. I listened to it earlier and it's pretty good.'
Weir won the athletics team's only two gold medals four years ago in Beijing and he faces a gruelling programme in London with the 800m and marathon still to come.
But his performances so far suggest he is relishing the challenge of becoming one of the home heroes of the Games.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-2198380/London-2012-Paralympics-David-Weir-wins-second-gold-1500m.html#ixzz25Xitj4xt
