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| Nationality | British (Welsh) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 3 April 1963 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Club | Presteigne BC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Robert Arthur Weale (born in Hereford on 3 April 1963), is a Welsh international lawn and indoor bowls player.[1] Weale is originally from Presteigne and was educated at John Beddoes School, but now lives in Hereford. In 2022, he was inducted into the Welsh Sports Hall of fame.[1]
Weale made his international debut in 1982. He was the youngest competitor in the 1984 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Aberdeen, where he competed in the triples event.[2]
Weale's career-best performance came in January 2000, when he won the 2000 World Indoor Bowls Championship singles title at Potters.[3] Just a few months later, Weale won the men's fours title at the 2000 World Outdoor Bowls Championship, in April 2000.[4]
Weale has won six Commonwealth Games medals achieved from eight successive games, a record. The achievement of winning medals over eight games is a record for a lawn bowls player and equals the record for a competitor across all sports. Weale was given the honour of carrying the Welsh flag & led the Welsh team out at the 1998 opening ceremony and he carried the Welsh flag during the 2010 closing ceremony.[5]
Weale won his first Welsh National Bowls Championships singles in 2000 and subsequently won the singles at the British Isles Bowls Championships in 2001.[6] He won his second Welsh singles title in 2005 before winning a third in August 2012, defeating Paul Taylor of Bridgend 21-11. He also skipped the Weale family quartet to the Welsh outdoor fours title, on eight occasions.[7] The Weale bowling family includes his three brothers (all former national champions) Brian, David and Stuart, sister-in-law Joanna Weale and daughter Rhiannon.[8]
He has also won the Welsh Indoor singles on three occasions.[2] In August 2005, he created a record by becoming the only man to hold both titles simultaneously.
