Tanni Grey Thompson
Born in Cardiff in 1969, Tanni was educated at St. Cyres Comprehensive School and subsequently obtained an honours degree at Loughborough University. Tanni now lives in Redcar with her husband, Dr. Ian Thompson and their daughter Carys, who was born in February 2002.
Tanni is Britain’s best-known Paralympic athlete, having performed at world-class level for the past 14 years, in distances ranging from 100m to the marathon. Tanni’s career has taken her around the world to every major international event. Her
13 Paralympic Medals,
6 Gold Medals in the
London Marathon and her comprehensive set of
British and World Records make her
achievements 2nd to none in the
disability sport arena.
Tanni has received
numerous accolades and
awards in recognition of her
Paralympic and
sporting achievements,
awarded 3rd place in the
BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2000, becoming
BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year and
’Welsh Woman of the Year’. The
year 2000 culminated in Tanni being decorated with the
OBE in the
Millennium New Years Honours List in honour of her services to sport.
Tanni’s most prestigious accolade has been her election to the
Laureus World Sports Academy alongside such sporting legends as Pele, Jack Nicklaus, Michael Jordan, Boris Becker, Ed Moses and Alberto Tomba, placing her firmly alongside the world’s leading sporting celebrities.
Tanni has been
voted 1 of only 4 British sportswomen to appear in the book ’50 British Sporting Greats’ published by Cassell’s in October 2002, highlighting the high esteem that Tanni is held in the eye of the British public.
In a poll undertaken by "
Ouch" the BBC’s disability website during January 2003,
Tanni was voted the 3rd Greatest Briton of All Time behind Professor Stephen Hawkins and the late rock star Ian Dury. Other distinguished names in the poll included World War 2 hero Douglas Barder, Sir Winston Churchill, Admiral Lord Nelson and Lord Byron. In 2002 Tanni received ‘The Walpole Best British Sporting Achievement Award’ and ‘The Commonwealth Games Sports Award for Best Female Disabled Athlete’.
Tanni has continued to expand her broadcasting and media experiences, writing articles for several leading newspapers including the Daily Mail and the Guardian and has featured in various household magazines such as ‘Best’ and ‘Good Housekeeping’. Always in constant demand by radio, Tanni has made numerous guest appearances on Radio Four, Radio Five Live and more recently BBC Manchester 2002, the dedicated radio station in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games.
A much loved and respected individual both on and off the track, Tanni has appeared on many high profile media programmes such as: BBC Question Time; The Weakest Link; Grandstand; A Question of Sport; Countryside; It’s My Funeral; My Favourite Hymns; CBBC’s Blue Peter; They Think It’s All Over and various lifestyle programmes such as ‘Gloria Hunniford’ and GMTV. More recently, Tanni has been developing a presenter’s role by co-hosting BBC Wales X-Ray Programme, a watchdog programme addressing issues beyond the scene of sport.
Tanni is articulate and well informed; she is an exceptional conference and motivational speaker and can tailor presentations to the individual needs of clients. She is able to interact with a wide range of people, from young school children to seasoned corporate executives such as Lloyds TSB, Accenture and Price Waterhouse.
Tanni plays an active role within sports administration, which has included the membership of the United Kingdom Sports Council, the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games Organising Council Association and patronage of the British Sports Trust.
SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTSParalympic Achievements
Sydney 2000
100m Gold Medal
200m Gold Medal
400m Gold Medal
800m Gold Medal
Atlanta 1996
100m Silver Medal
200m Silver Medal World Record
400m Silver Medal
800m Gold Medal World Record
Barcelona 1992
100m Gold Medal World Record
200m Gold Medal
400m Gold Medal World Record
800m Gold Medal World Record
Seoul 1988
100m 4th place
400m Bronze Medal
Marathon Achievements:London Marathon 2003
Silver Medal
London Marathon 2001
Gold Medal personal best time: 2 Hours 20 minutes
London Marathon 2000
Gold Medal
Lake Sempach Marathon 2002
6th place Personal best time: 2 Hours, 04 Mins, 54 Secs.
London Marathon 1999
Silver Medal
Great North Run
Gold Medal
London Marathon 1998
Silver Medal
Lake Sempach Marathon Personal best time:
London Marathon 1997
Gold Medal
London Marathon 1996
Silver Medal
London Marathon 1994
Gold Medal
London Marathon 1993
Gold Medal
London Marathon 1992
Bronze Medal
London Marathon
Gold Medal
Lake Sempach Marathon
First British woman to finish in under 2 hours.
Other Sporting Achievements:2000
Olympic Exhibition Event, Sydney 800m 4th Place
1998
European 800m Exhibition Event 800m Gold Medal Oz Day 10km 10km Gold Medal
1997
British Wheelchair Racing Association Road Racing Grand Prix Winner
1995
World Championship Exhibition Event, Sweden 800m 4th place
1994
World Athletics Championships, Berlin 100m Gold Medal
200m Gold Medal (WR)
400m Gold Medal (WR)
800m Gold Medal
10,000m Bronze Medal
European Championships Exhibition, Helsinki 800m Bronze Medal
1993
World Championships Exhibition, Stuttgart, 800m Bronze Medal
Swiss National Games 100m Gold Medal (WR)
200m Gold Medal (WR)
1992
Olympic Exhibition Event, Barcelona 800m Gold Medal (WR)
Toronto Challenge, Canada 100m World Record
200m World Record
400m World Record
800m World Record Melbourne International Track Meet
200m World Record
1991
World Wheelchair Games, Stoke Mandeville
100m Gold Medal
200m Gold Medal
400m Silver Medal
1990
World Championships, Assen, Holland
100m Silver Medal
200m Silver Medal
400m Bronze Medal
British Records Held
100m 17.08
2000
Atlanta
200m 29.77
1996
Paralympic Games 400m 56.28
2003
Langental:800m 1.53.35
Gothenburg: 1500m 3.35.15
Jona, Switzerland:5000m 12.32.61
10,000m 25.39.06
Kirby, England: 10km road 24.03
1997
Mobile, California, USA:Half Marathon 52.17
Great North Run
Tanni also holds a number of
Honorary Fellowships,
Masters and
Doctorates from various
Universities. She is also
Patron to a large number of organisations including
British Sport Trust and Youth Sport Trust.Institute of the United Kingdom, and has been on the board of many influential sports organisations including
Sports Council for Wales and National Disability Council.
Robert Hensel being an international poet and writer, Robert has never let spina bifida come in the way of his artistic mind. "There were many times that my schoolmates would laugh at me and call me names simply because of their lack of understanding of why I was a little different". He was awarded the title of one of the best poets of the 20th century with over 900 publications worldwide and detains the world record at Guiness and Ripley's for the longest non stop wheelie in a weelchair.
