Athletics - Men's 800m - T54 Final - London 2012 Paralympic Games

Medallists:
GOLD WEIR David GBR - Great Britain
SILVER HUG Marcel SUI - Switzerland
BRONZE KONJEN Saichon THA - Thailand

LONDON, 6 September - A pair of British victories less than 10 minutes apart, with wheelchair racer David WEIR (GBR) and lower-leg amputee sprinter Jonnie PEACOCK (GBR) triumphing in two of the most high-profile athletics events at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, sent the Olympic Stadium spectators into euphoria on Thursday night. WEIR was the first away and took his third gold medal of the Games, adding the T54 men's 800m title to the 1500m and 5000m he won earlier in the week.Defending one of the two titles he won in Beijing 2008, he crossed the line in one minute 37.63 seconds to huge acclaim from the capacity crowd. The British athlete followed in the slipstream of ZHANG Lixin (CHN) through to the bell, which was covered in 52.15, before going past him at 600m. Tucked on the inside, WEIR proved once again that he is a very hard man to pass once he has got his front wheel in front and hung on all the way to the line.

""That was hard work tonight. I had to dig deep. I've really got to thank Emily back at home for keeping me calm on the phone to me, and relaxing me. And for Jenny (ARCHER) my coach...This is for my children. This one's for my kids tonight. I just had to dig deep."" David WEIR said

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