Zane Weir (born 7 September 1995) is an Italian

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

ter of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n descent. He has represented

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

since February 2020, and competed for them at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

. He won gold at the 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships.

Biography

Early and personal life

Weir was born and raised in

Amanzimtoti Amanzimtoti is a coastal town just south of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The town is well known for its warm climate and numerous beaches, and is a popular tourist destination, particularly with surfers. The annual sardine run attracts m ...

, South Africa. He studied at

Westville Boys' High School Westville Boys' High School, often referred to as WBHS or "boys high", is a semi-private high school for boys located in Westville, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Early history The year 2022 marks the 67th anniversary of WBHS as a high school. ...

and the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

. A South African with Italian heritage, Weir said it was his having listened to his grandfather Mario's sporting tales of his time in

, that made him decide to represent Italy after completing his degree in finance and accounting. His grandfather had been a keen sportsman.

Career

2021

He produced a personal best of 21.11 m in February 2021 – 1 cm over the qualifying mark to book his spot for the trip to Japan and the delayed

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

. In May 2021, at the

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

Meeting in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

he finished 5th. In the delayed

2020 Olympic Games The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

held in Tokyo in 2021, he placed 5th overall in the Qualification round on August 3, 2021, after finishing 3rd in group B with a personal best toss of 21.25. Two days later, he placed again 5th in the Olympic final, with a new PB of 21.41. He produced another new personal best on September 5, 2021, at the

Meeting Città di Padova The Meeting Città di Padova is an annual track and field meet that takes place at the Daciano Colbacchini Stadium in Padua, Italy. It was first held in 1987. From 1993 to 2018 the meeting was moved to the Stadio Euganeo Stadio Euganeo is a ...

in Italy with a mark of 21.63 m, improving his personal best from Tokyo 2020 by 22 centimeters, improved again in

Caorle Caorle (; vec, Càorle) is a coastal town in the Metropolitan City of Venice, Veneto, northern Italy, located between the estuaries of the Livenza and Lemene rivers. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea between two other tourist towns, Eraclea and ...

on 19 September, to bring it to 21.66 m. He improved his personal record on March 13, 2022 at the 2022 European Throwing Cup, in

Leiria Leiria (; cel-x-proto, ɸlāryo) is a city and municipality in the Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat of its own distr ...

with a mark of 21.99 m, winning the competition.

2023: European Indoor champion

Weir broke the Italian indoor national record on the way to throwing 22.06 and winning gold at the 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Istanbul, on March 3, 2023. He was selected for the shot put competition at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, where he qualified for the final. He improved his personal record on September 3, 2023 at the

with a mark of 22.44 m.

2024

In February 2024, he won the Italian indoor national title with a throw of 21.69m.

Achievements

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weir, Zane 1995 births Living people South African male shot putters Italian male shot putters South African people of Italian descent University of Cape Town alumni People from Amanzimtoti Sportspeople from KwaZulu-Natal Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Italy Athletics competitors of Fiamme Gialle Athletes (track and field) at the 2023 European Games European Games gold medalists for Italy European Games medalists in athletics Alumni of Westville Boys' High School