SPORTING legend David Weir CBE – the holder of six Paralympic gold medals and winner of six London marathons – has taken delivery of a specially adapted Nissan X-Trail, boosting his preparations for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
The stunning seven-seat crossover has been provided by the Sutton born and bred wheelchair athlete’s local dealer, Ancaster Nissan in Brighton Road, South Croydon, as part of a new sponsorship arrangement.
The new car, which has been modified with hand controls allowing David to drive, will play a major role in his preparations for Rio 2016. David drives around 60 miles a day to and from training sessions and frequently travels to competitions across Europe and to training camps in Switzerland and Portugal.
He needs a vehicle which is comfortable for long journeys, economical to drive and large enough to accommodate both his day chair and racing chair.
Collecting his car from the dealership this week, a delighted David said: “When I found out Ancaster wanted to sponsor me and provide a new X-Trail, I couldn’t say no.
“Having a car is so important to me as there’s a lot of driving involved in training and competing. It is not uncommon for me to travel by car through Europe, thereby sometimes spending 10 hours or more behind the wheel. The X-Trail is perfect for me in every respect, its spacious for my everyday kit and equipment but yet economical to run. I am absolutely delighted with it.”
The new car’s also come at the right time for 35 year-old David, who is now focused entirely on achieving more glory in Rio.
He said: “At my age it’s hard to keep the momentum going, London 2012 was such a big year for me, I kept on thinking to myself, could anything compete with it? But towards the end of last season, knowing that Rio was only two years away, I dug deep and found that extra gear again and now I’ve got my desire and hunger back, my passion for wheelchair racing is stronger than ever before.”
Mick Gallard, General Sales Manager at Ancaster Nissan in Croydon, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be able to sponsor a sporting legend like David in this way and to be playing a small role in helping his quest for even more medals in Rio.
“David’s a local lad and this sponsorship is a great source of pride for everyone at the dealership. We’ll be cheering him on all the way.”
