The character arc of Tanni Grey-Thompson

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born Carys Davina Grey on 26 July 1969 in Cardiff, nicknamed Tanni by an older sister who tried to say tiny. Between then and now sit spina bifida, a first wheelchair race at thirteen, a Paralympic debut at fifteen, a bronze in Seoul at nineteen, five Paralympic Games, sixteen Paralympic medals of which eleven are gold, thirteen World Championship medals, over thirty world records, six London Marathon wins, a degree from Loughborough, an MBE then an OBE then a damehood, and a life peerage. The line below draws the story so far, in order.

Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who is Tanni Grey-Thompson?

Thirteen when she started. Eleven golds when she stopped.

She was christened Carys Davina Grey in Cardiff. Her sister Sian, two years older, looked at her and said tiny, except it came out as tanni, and the name stuck for the rest of her life. She has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair.

She started wheelchair racing at thirteen. At fifteen she was racing the 100m for Wales at the Junior National Games, and she won the National Junior title in her last year as a junior. Her international career began at nineteen, in Seoul in 1988, where she took a bronze in the 400m. As a young athlete she played wheelchair basketball too.

What followed was one of the longest and most complete runs in British sport. Five Paralympic Games, the last of them Athens in 2004, where she won gold in both the 100m and the 400m. Sixteen Paralympic medals in total: eleven gold, four silver, one bronze. Thirteen World Championship medals. Over thirty world records. And six London Marathon wins between 1992 and 2002, which is a different discipline entirely and she won it six times.

She graduated from Loughborough University in 1991 with a degree in politics and social administration, while all of that was going on. She announced her retirement in February 2007 and raced last for Great Britain at the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester that May.

She was appointed MBE in 1993, OBE in 2000 and Dame Commander in 2005, for services to disabled sport. On 23 March 2010 she was created a life peer as Baroness Grey-Thompson, of Eaglescliffe in Stockton-on-Tees, and sits as a crossbencher. She has presented for the BBC, S4C and ITV, sat on the boards of the London Marathon, Transport for London and the BBC, chairs ukactive, and holds honorary doctorates from more than twenty universities. She is married to Ian Thompson, a research chemist and former wheelchair athlete, and they have one daughter.

The moments

Tanni Grey-Thompson's timeline.

The 1960s

26 Jul 1969

Carys Davina Grey

Everyday. A sister could not say tiny, and the name lasted a lifetime.

The 1970s

~1970

Spina bifida

Setback, and it changed everything. A fact about her body, stated once.

The 1980s

~1982

Racing at thirteen

Milestone, and it changed everything. Thirteen, and into a racing chair.

~1984

Racing for Wales at fifteen

Milestone, and it changed her direction. Two years in, and racing for her country.

Oct 1988

Bronze in Seoul

Milestone, and it changed everything. Nineteen years old, first Games, first medal.

The 1990s

Jul 1991

Loughborough

Milestone, and it changed her direction. A degree in the middle of an international career.

Apr 1992

The first London Marathon

Milestone, and it changed her direction. A different distance, a different discipline, won six times.

~1993

MBE

Milestone. The first of three.

The 2000s

Oct 2000

Sydney, and an OBE

Milestone, and it changed her direction. Her fourth Games, and the second honour.

Sep 2004

Two golds in Athens

Milestone, and it changed everything. Sixteen medals, eleven of them gold, and the last two were in Athens.

~2005

Dame Commander

Milestone, and it changed her direction. The third honour, and the highest.

27 Feb 2007

She announces retirement

Milestone, and it changed everything. Over thirty world records, and she chose the day she stopped.

27 Feb 2007

Stop, or go once more

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: announce it and go, taken, or train for a sixth Games. She raced last in Manchester that May, and was a life peer within three years.

The 2010s

23 Mar 2010

Baroness Grey-Thompson

Milestone, and it changed everything. From a racing chair to the red benches.

Jul 2014

On the boards

Everyday. The argument about access, continued in committee rooms.

She works now on the boards and in the chamber rather than on the track, which is the same argument continued by other means. What she set moving was a career so long and so decorated that British sport stopped treating a wheelchair athlete as a separate category and started treating her as one of the best of any of them.

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Tanni Grey-Thompson: frequently asked questions

What people ask about her line.

What is Tanni Grey-Thompson's character arc?

A girl with spina bifida who got into a racing chair at thirteen, raced for Wales at fifteen, won sixteen Paralympic medals across five Games, took six London Marathons, and then carried the same argument into the House of Lords.

How many Paralympic medals did Tanni Grey-Thompson win?

Sixteen in total across five Paralympic Games: eleven gold, four silver and one bronze. She also won thirteen World Championship medals, six gold, five silver and two bronze, and held over thirty world records.

When did Tanni Grey-Thompson start racing?

At the age of thirteen. She made her Paralympic debut for Wales at fifteen, in the 100m at the Junior National Games in 1984, and won the National Junior title in her last year as a junior.

Did Tanni Grey-Thompson win the London Marathon?

Six times, between 1992 and 2002. The marathon is a different discipline from the sprint and middle distance track events she is best known for, which makes six wins across eleven years a remarkable second career inside the first.

Why is Tanni Grey-Thompson called Tanni?

Her older sister Sian saw her as a baby and said tiny, except it came out as tanni. The nickname stuck. She was christened Carys Davina Grey and was born in Cardiff on 26 July 1969.

What does Tanni Grey-Thompson do now?

She sits in the House of Lords as a crossbench peer, created Baroness Grey-Thompson in 2010. She presents for the BBC, chairs ukactive, and has served on the boards of the London Marathon, Transport for London and the BBC.

Where does this timeline of Tanni Grey-Thompson's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Tanni Grey-Thompson isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to her.

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Sources

Tanni Grey-Thompson, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
Her Paralympic and World Championship record, as that biography sets it out.
The London Gazette honours entries for 1993, 2000 and 2005, as cited there.
The House of Lords Appointments Commission peerage of 23 March 2010.
Her autobiography Seize the Day, published by Hodder and Stoughton in 2001.