Fresh from winning a record eighth London Marathon, six-time Paralympic champion David Weir CBE and Jenny Archer MBE are bringing their ‘Weir Archer Academy’ to St Mary’s University, Twickenham on Wednesday 30th May and they will be available for media interviews, photo and video opportunities.
David and his lifelong coach Jenny Archer MBE are inviting a group of athletes from their Academy to use St Mary’s world class sports science and strength & conditioning facilities on the day, which they will now be using as their sports science and strength & conditioning base. This partnership means the University can provide students the opportunity of experiencing sport science support to Paralympic athletes, opportunities extremely rare in an academic environment.
The Weir Archer Academy provides athlete and coaching support and expertise across all levels and abilities including working with schools in the South East of England. It works with clubs and coaches in the region to provide access to the Academy for international development for under-resourced counties. It also helps improve health, self-development, confidence, social inclusion and, for some, the ultimate sporting success on a global stage.
The schedule for Wednesday 30th May is as follows;
18:00 Media registration at St Mary’s University sports reception – tea/coffee will be available.
18:10 Welcome from the Faculty of Sport Health and Applied Science (SHAS).
18:20 Optional tours available of St Mary’s sports facilities.
18:45 Video and photo opportunities of athletes training using sports facilities.
19:00 Interview opportunities with David and Jenny.
19:30 Close
David Weir CBE – Brief bio
David (38) is a British Paralympic wheelchair athlete.
He won a total of six Gold medals at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Paralympic Games and recently won a record eighth London Marathon.
David is also six-time Athletics World Championships Champion, four-time Athletics European Championships Champion and Commonwealth Gold medallist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 New Year’s Honours’ List for services to disabled sport and then Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2013 for services to athletics.
In April 2013, along with his coach Jenny, David launched the Weir Archer Academy with the aim of increasing participation in disability sport and nurturing the next generation of Paralympians.
David previously held the British record at all track distances up to 5,000m, as well as on the road at 10 km, half marathon, and marathon. He currently holds the record for the fastest mile ever achieved in under three minutes and holds the world record for The Lisbon Half Marathon.
Jenny Archer MBE – Brief bio
Jenny Archer is a sports coach and former 400m and 800m runner.
In 1987, she was approached by then Wimbledon FC manager Bobby Gould and his assistant Don Howe to run a fitness programme for the infamous ‘Crazy Gang’, who went on to shock the footballing world and win the FA Cup against Liverpool a year later.
Jenny became David’s coach in 2002 and remains in the role today. Since this David has gone on to win eight London Marathons, six Paralympic Gold medal, six Athletics World Championships titles, a Commonwealth Gold medal and four Athletics European Championships titles.
In 2012, Jenny was named as Coach of the Year by The Sunday Times Sports Women Awards.
In April 2013, Jenny and David launched the Weir Archer Academy with the aim of increasing participation in disability sport and nurturing the next generation of Paralympians.
In 2014, Jenny was awarded an MBE for her services to disabled sport in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.