British wheelchair racer David Weir on Wednesday set the stage for yet another title defense, making the T54 800m final just hours after successfully retaining his 1,500m crown.

The 33-year-old Londoner was again challenged by his great rivals Kurt Fearnley of Australia and Switzerland's Marcel Hug at the Olympic Stadium but saw off the challenge to qualify for Thursday evening's final.

Combative Weir, dubbed the "Weirwolf" by teammates, was competing just over 12 hours after a partisan 80,000 crowd roared him to victory in the 1,500m final, four years after he won the middle distance double in Beijing.

He has won the 5,000m gold in the British capital and also goes in the marathon around the streets of central London on the last day of athletics competition on Saturday.

Weir admitted that racing again so soon after the 800m final was "a bit tough" and he only managed four-and-a-half hours' sleep - although that was more than the two-and-a-half hours he got between his 5,000m title and 1,500m heat.

"I felt a bit tired this morning. I did not get enough to eat last night. I need to go home now and eat and recover," he told reporters.

But he warned that a third gold was not a foregone conclusion.

"It's potentially there. But if you look at Zhang (Lixin of China) and the (South) Korean guy (Kim Gyu-dae), it's going to be tough. That's why you have to train 20 percent harder," he noted.

"These guys are younger than me and I have had to up my game in the last 10 weeks to get some more endurance."

World record holder Hug, nicknamed the Swiss "Silver Bullet" because of his silver helmet, said he was impressed with Weir's performance and believed the Briton was favorite to take the title again.

AFP - Global Times