Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Britain’s most successful Paralympian, today announced her retirement from international competition.
The 37-year-old Cardiff born athlete, who’s based in Redcar, believes now is the right time to move on to a new challenge.
She said: “I have always said that I would wake up one day and know that I would not want to do it any more. There are other things that I want to do and if I want to be successful I need to devote more time to those things.
“I am still competing at a very high level, but as I get older things get harder and I want to retire before I fall apart.”
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Dame Tanni’s final race in a GB vest will be at the Visa Paralympic World Cup in Manchester in May, where she is hoping to go out on a high.
She said: “Obviously my last race will be emotional, but for me it’s business as usual. I will probably be sick, but I will prepare in the same way, go through my same routine, and hopefully win.”
Dame Tanni is Britain’s best-known Paralympic athlete, having performed at world-class level in distances ranging from 100m to the marathon.
Her 15 Paralympic medals including 11 golds, six gold medals in the London Marathon and her comprehensive set of British and world records make her achievements second to none in the disability sport arena.
In 2000 she was decorated with the OBE in honour of her services to sport, which was followed by Damehood in 2004.
Although she’s hanging up her GB vest, Dame Tanni is not leaving sport altogether and is already passing on her expertise to the next generation of Paralympic athletes.
“I am coaching a couple of young athletes who are working towards Beijing and London. I also want to continue with my broadcasting and speaking work but would also welcome the opportunity to put something back into sport.”
For further information about Pure Gold contact Martin Corck or Helen Williams at Creating Excellence, 01245 328 303.
For further information about the Visa Paralympic World Cup which takes place in Manchester from 7th to 13th May, contact Lisa Harper at Fast Track, 0207 592 5293 m 07881 822 161 or go to www.visaparalympicworldcup.com
Competitive History
Paralympics
1988 Seoul, South Korea
Bronze 400m
1992 Barcelona, Spain
Gold 100m
Gold 200m
Gold 400m
Gold 800m
1996 Atlanta, USA
Gold 800m
Silver 100m
Silver 200m
Silver 400m
2000 Sydney, Australia
Gold 100m
Gold 200m
Gold 400m
Gold 800m
2004 Athens, Greece
Gold 100m
Gold 400m
Commonwealth Games
1990 Auckland, New Zealand
Bronze 800m
World Championships
1990 Assen, Holland
Silver 100m
Silver 200m
Bronze 400m
1994 Berlin, Germany
Gold 100m
Gold 200m
Gold 400m
Gold 800m
Bronze 10,000m
1998 Birmingham, England
Gold 200m
Silver 400m
Silver 800m
European Championships
2003 Assen, Holland
Gold 100m
Gold 200m
Gold 400m
Gold 800m
2005 Espoo, Finland
Gold 100m
Gold 200m
Gold 400m
Gold 800m
London Marathon
First 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002
Second 1997, 2000
Third 1993
Fourth 1990
Dame Tanni has held British records in every distance from 100m up to 10,000m.
Dame Tanni broke her own 400m world record in 2003 in a time of 56.28. In 2004 she broke her own 200m world record in a time of 29.66.
