Robert Weir

Robert Weir

Position:
Assistant Caoch - Men's/Women's Throws







The Stanford throwing corps has achieved unparalleled success under the guidance of Robert Weir. His athletes have achieved remarkable success at the national and international level. Weir enters his fourth season as the Head Men's Track and Field Coach.

Weir is entering his 14th season on the Cardinal staff. His experience as an international competitor and NCAA All-American, coupled with superior technical knowledge, has made him one of the premier coaches in the United States.

With Weir's assistance, the Stanford men and women have produced numerous All-Americans in each of the four throwing events (shot put, discus, hammer, javelin). In 2006, Sarah Hopping finished second at the Pac-10 Championships under Weir's guidance, crushing her own school record by over four feet (219-8). Hopping then finished second at the NCAA West Regional (215-4) to advance to the NCAA Championships for a second-straight year.

During the 2005 season, Weir coached Michael Robertson to the NCAA title in the discus. Robertson not only won the discus but also set the school record in the process with a throw of 202-5 (61.70m). Robertson began his march to the NCAA title with wins at the Pac-10 and NCAA West Regional Championships. Robertson became the first Stanford athlete in 40 years to win the discus at the NCAA Championship. Sarah Hopping set the school record in the hammer (204-2, 62.23m) and helped the Cardinal team to the NCAA West Regional and Pac-10 championships with second and third place finishes, respectively. Hopping also competed at the NCAA Championships in Sacramento.

In 2004, seven-time All-American Jillian Camarena was runner-up in the shot put at the NCAA Outdoor and Indoor Track and Field Championships. Camarena, the 2004 Pac-10 and NCAA West Regional champion in the shot put, placed third at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Camarena set a school record in the shot put with a throw of 59-6 3/4 (18.15m), the second farthest throw in Pac-10 history.

Omer Inan was named an All-American in the men's discus from 2001-03. Under Weir's guidance, Inan broke the then school record in the discus in 2002, and Chad Wassink broke the javelin school record in 2001. Nick Welihozkiy captured the 2003 NCAA West Regional title en route to All-America honors at the NCAA Championships.

In 2001, Maureen Onyeagbako broke the then school record in the hammer and Camarena broke the freshman school record in the shot put. A year later, Jessica Pluth broke the hammer school record which has since been broke multiple times by Sarah Hopping. In 2000, Summer Pierson, a participant at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials, gained All-America honors in the discus. In 1999, Allison Beatty broke the javelin school record and later that year gained All-America honors at the NCAA Championships.

In 2000, Weir coached Adam Nelson to a U.S. National Title and Olympic Silver Medal in the shot put. Weir was named the NCAA West Regional Track and Field Coach of the Year in 2001. Additionally, the Men's track and Field team won Pac-10 crowns in 2001 and 2002, the school's first titles since 1927.

From 1995-2000, Weir successfully coached several of the nation's top U.S. collegiate hammer throwers who were attending Stanford. The list included Dave Popejoy, a 1996 United States Olympian and current school record holder (240-10, 73.40m), Justin Strand, a former Stanford football player who later became an All-American hammer thrower (1996, 1997, 1998) and Adam Connolly. In 1998, Adam Connolly finished as an All-American in both the 35-pound weight throw and the hammer.

Weir was named an assistant coach for the United States contingent at the 2005 IAAF World Track & Field Championships in Helsinki, Finland.

Weir was a twelve-time Great Britain national champion in the discus and a member of that country's World Championship Team. He also competed in the 1984, 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics. At the Sydney Games, Weir was named captain of the Great Britain track and field team.

Weir received his undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist University (SMU) in 1983. While with the Mustangs, he won three NCAA individual titles and set the collegiate record in the hammer throw and a world record in the 35-pound weight throw.

Weir, who also played professional football in Canada, has two children, Robert and Jillian.

Courtesy Stanford University