Meet Warren Weir – A High Flyer On and Off the Track
The crowds, the noise, the anticipation, a full house, the expectations, the cheers…these are the days that Warren Weir races for, the days he dreamed about growing up in Jamaica.
The Olympic bronze medalist over 200m in London and world champion silver medalist in Moscow, remembers every detail of his races and he’s ready to be captivated by his favorite stadiums in 2017. His game plan for the track is all about the big occasions while off the track he’s flying high with his drones.
This is Warren Weir’s game plan.
Jamaica is an island filled with amazing sprinting talent. Is it now every boy’s dream to make the track teams?
After the Beijing Olympic Games a lot of juniors started leaning towards athletics. We are certainly seeing more professionals coming out of the sport in Jamaica – there are now a lot of young Warrens and young Yohan Blakes moving up the ranks every single day.
In high school I was a hurdler, but didn’t know I would go to the Olympic Games and run the 200m or come into the 2016 season with a time of 10.06. I wanted to be a track and field Olympian and there are more and more athletes like that, not immediately knowing what sport they want to do but they are trying every day to get there.
My cousin was an Olympian, Debbie-Ann Parris, she was a 400m hurdler and now coaches at a university in the US. So I think some genes came from there. Back then, it wasn’t so serious as Olympians used to have day jobs and then track and field but now it is full on. Track and field is our day job.
Was it always your game plan to race in the biggest stadia around the world?
Where is your favorite track to race and why?
My favorite place to race is in London. I’m so sad that the Olympic Stadium track is no longer there. For the 2012 Games in the heats of the 200m in the morning it was a jam-packed stadium, and then going back for the semi-finals it was the same and the final again. That experience was just wonderful!
What's your world like away from the track?
Staying home, watching TV, playing games, that’s how I spend my rest days. I do a lot of photography and now I do a lot with drones. I started a few years back as a hobby and then a friend of mine asked me to come and drone something for his company. From that I started a company. So when I’m not at home resting, I’m somewhere with my team getting footage for a client.
Can you show us with a gesture how you feel just before you take to the start line of a race?
0 COMMENTS