October 21 - Robert Weir (pictured), Britain's national event coach for heavy throws, has quit after less than a year in the job, it was announced today.

 

Weir, who had been in post for 10 months and worked out of the National Performance Centre at Loughborough, had been the first major appointment of head coach Charles van Commenee's new regime.

 

The double Commonwealth Games champion in the hammer in 1982 and the discus in 1998 has been a leading coach in the United States for 20 years.
 

His roles there have included being the head coach for the US team that competed at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Beijing and the US throws coach at the 2005 and 2007 World Championships in Helsinki and Osaka respectively.

 

But he failed to adapt to his new role here.

 

Van Commenee said: "We would like to wish Robert well, but our focus now must be on the future of heavy throws both in the short and longer term.
 
"It is clear that we need to strengthen both coach and athlete development and we intend to move quickly to ensure this happens and we do not lose momentum."
 
Weir said: "I would like to wish Charles all the best for the future."

 

 

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