Robert Arthur Weale (born in Hereford on 3 April 1963), is a Welsh international lawn and indoor bowls player. Weale is originally from

Presteigne Presteigne (; cy, Llanandras: the church of St. Andrew) is a town and community in Radnorshire, Powys, Wales on the south bank of the River Lugg. Formerly the county town of the historic county of Radnorshire, the town has, in common with ...

and was educated at

John Beddoes School John Beddoes School was a secondary or comprehensive school for boys and girls. The school was based on one site in the town of Presteigne. It had a largely rural catchment area in east Radnorshire including the towns and villages of Presteigne ...

, but now lives in Hereford. In 2022, he was inducted into the Welsh Sports Hall of fame.

Bowls career

Weale made his international debut in 1982. He was the youngest competitor in the 1984 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, where he competed in the triples event.

World Titles

Weale's career-best performance came in January 2000, when he won the 2000 World Indoor Bowls Championship singles title at Potters. Just a few months later, Weale won the men's fours title at the

2000 World Outdoor Bowls Championship The 2000 Men's World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at Marks Park Bowling Club, in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 1 to 15 April 2000. The 2000 Women's World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at Moama Bowling Club in Moama, Australia ...

, in April 2000.

Commonwealth Games

Weale has won six

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

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. ; 1986 Commonwealth Games in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

: Gold Medal in the men's fours; with Jim Morgan,

Hafod Thomas Hafod Thomas is a former Welsh international lawn bowler. He won a gold medal in the fours at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of ...

, and Will Thomas ;

1994 Commonwealth Games The 1994 Commonwealth Games (French: ''XVéme Jeux du Commonwealth'') were held in Victoria, British Columbia, from 18 to 28 August 1994. Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

: silver medal in the men's pairs; with John Price ;

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''( Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unpreceden ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

: silver medal in the men's pairs; with Will Thomas ;

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

: bronze medal in the men's singles ; 2006 Commonwealth Games in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

: silver medal in the men's singles ;

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

: gold medal in the men's singles. Weale defeated Australian, Leif Selby

Welsh Titles

Weale won his first

Welsh National Bowls Championships The Welsh National Bowls Championships is organised by the Welsh Bowling Association The Welsh Bowling Association (WBA) is the governing body for men's outdoor bowling clubs in Wales. It has 10 affiliated counties and 286 affiliated clubs. The W ...

singles in 2000 and subsequently won the singles at the British Isles Bowls Championships in 2001. 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. The Weale bowling family includes his three brothers (all former national champions) Brian, David and Stuart, sister-in-law

Joanna Weale Joanna Weale (born 1975) is a Welsh international lawn and indoor bowler. She won a bronze medal in the pairs with Anwen Butten at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. She bowls for the Llandrindod Wells Bowling Club and is part of a f ...

and daughter Rhiannon. He has also won the Welsh Indoor singles on three occasions. In August 2005, he created a record by becoming the only man to hold both titles simultaneously.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weale, Robert Living people 1963 births Commonwealth Games medallists in lawn bowls Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Wales Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Wales Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Wales Bowls players at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Sportspeople from Hereford People from Presteigne Sportspeople from Powys Welsh male bowls players People educated at John Beddoes School Indoor Bowls World Champions Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games