Commonwealth Games champion Kurt Fearnley (AUS) and Paralympic champion David Weir (ENG) will go head to head in the Glasgow 2014 men’s 1500m final T54 at Hampden Park tonight.
Englishman Weir is targeting the gold medal, which would see him become Paralympic, IPC world champion and Commonwealth Champion in the men’s para athletic 1500m T54.
The 35-year-old, who took up wheelchair racing aged eight, has had the Glasgow Games at the top of his agenda all season. He competes in the T54 classification, which is for athletes with normal hand or arm functions, reduced leg or trunk functions, who race in wheelchairs.
He said: “It would be amazing to complete the set as this has been on my mind all year. I really want to be on the podium with the national anthem for England playing. I only train to get gold. I don’t go into the race to get anything else.”
Weir began his quest for the Commonwealth title on Tuesday morning with victory in round one, cheered on by the Hampden Park crowd.
After the race Weir commented, “The race was great and I’m looking forward to Thursday now. The atmosphere was amazing. It felt a bit like London 2012 and it was nice to see so many St George’s flags.”
Weir, who has won numerous awards and was appointed CBE in the New Year’s Honours List in 2013, has enjoyed a career laden with Paralympic and IPC world champion gold at various distances. He said that while 1500m was not his strongest event it is one that holds a special attraction for him.
“Just now it is 800m that is my strongest. Going into London 2012 it was the marathon but generally I love the 1500m, because it is the pinnacle of wheelchair racing.”
He trains with elite cyclists to build speed and endurance, to increase his performance levels and says that despite his age, he is getting faster. He is focusing on Tonight’s final and is open-minded about his career much beyond that.
“I’ll definitely be at Rio (2016 Paralympic Games) but this will probably be my last Commonwealth Games. There is the IPC world championships in London in 2017, that would be good. But four cycles are tough when you have done everything. We will just see how Rio goes. I’m not getting any slower, in theory I’m getting quicker so I could be here for another 10 years.”