Hard graft & glamour Her remarkable determination and bravery have won Tanni Grey-Thompson international awards and fans – but the sporting idol has her own heroes and heroines, as she explains to Rory Stamp ‘The weather was horrible,’ shivers Tanni as she recalls her first experience of the RNLI. The now 11-times gold medallist was just 7 years old at the time, and had only recently begun to use a wheelchair. On a stormy day while on holiday in Brixham, Devon, she and her family heard the deep explosion of a maroon summoning the lifeboat crew. Peering through a rain-lashed window that overlooked the seafront, she watched volunteers rush to the lifeboat station in response. ‘I remember thinking how scary the sea was – you could see huge waves crashing into the walls. Suddenly, all these cars screamed up to the slipway and the crew members jumped out.’ Seeing the volunteers launch a lifeboat in such conditions left a lifetime impression on Tanni, now 37.

‘They came back 2 hours later with a broken-down boat in tow,’ she remembers. ‘My mother and father were already involved in RNLI fundraising, and that experience made me really appreciate why. I still find it quite humbling when I think about what the crew members do, especially as I’m not a fan of the sea.’ It is typical of Tanni to prefer talking about the actions of others rather than her own remarkable achievements, of which there have been many. Born with spina bifida, she went on to build an elite sporting career that spanned 19 years, winning 11 Paralympic gold medals and setting 30 world records. She has also won the women’s London Wheelchair Marathon six times, including the 1994 and 1998 events when she raised more than £50,000 towards an Atlantic 75 lifeboat for Cardigan lifeboat station. Still used by the crew today, the Tanni Grey was named by the woman herself in 1999.

‘It was a brilliant day, especially as it was a Welsh lifeboat station,’ says Tanni, who was born in Cardiff.

‘The crew took me out in the lifeboat – I was very wary at first but they made it clear to me that the last thing they would do is let me fall overboard from a lifeboat that had my name on it!’ Another highlight of that year was her marriage to Dr Ian Thompson, who she had met when they were both members of the national wheelchair racing squad.

Two years later, Tanni was the guest of honour at the RNLI’s annual presentation of awards in London.

Ending an emotional speech at the ceremony, she said: ‘I leave in awe of the bravery and dedication of those people who have been involved and, not for the first time during my involvement with the RNLI, wishing that I’d come wearing slightly less mascara.’ Given her glittering career and a series of distinctions (her damehood was conferred in 2005 and she has received several sports personality accolades and a Pride of Britain award), you’d be forgiven for thinking Dame Tanni has had a glamorous life. ‘That’s not necessarily the case,’ she says. ‘There’s a lot that people don’t see. As with all athletes, I’ve spent most of my time training and that’s not very glamorous, especially in Winter. It’s just going up and down a road, with a very, very runny nose.’ ‘Lifeboat crew members sometimes get public attention if they carry out an exceptional rescue. But there’s a lot of unpaid, essential hard graft that isn’t seen.’ While she points out that ‘winning medals and saving lives are obviously completely different things’, Dame Tanni believes there are some similarities between the lives of RNLI volunteers and athletes.

‘Again, there’s a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes,’ she explains. ‘Lifeboat crew members sometimes get public attention if they carry out an exceptional rescue. But the training, the washing down of lifeboats, the maintenance and so on: it’s a lot of unpaid, essential hard graft that isn’t seen.’ Although she left the sporting stage in May 2007, after winning a silver medal at the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester, Dame Tanni is still a busy lady.

She continues to train, is a BBC commentator and is a member of the Laureus World Academy, which ‘promotes sport as a tool for social change’. She is also involved with a new company, Rackety’s, which makes clothes for disabled people. ‘The designs are great – there are some really vibrant colours but they are also functional. It’s very rewarding when a parent says to you that you’ve brightened up their life and their daughter’s life because she finally has an outfit that is easy to get on and off and looks pretty.’ Retiring from athletics has also made it easier for this highly successful woman to do the job she loves best: being a mum to her 5-year-old daughter (pictured above). ‘It’s great being able to spend more time with Carys. She always did think athletics was boring!’ laughs Dame Tanni. And despite being a self-confessed landlubber, she says that her home on the north east coast of England offers a regular reminder of the RNLI’s mission to save lives at sea. ‘We live in Redcar, and the lifeboat crew there is a real part of the community. It’s an amazing group of people who put everything on the line to rescue other people. I wouldn’t do it for a million quid!’ .