I have only spoken with Tanni once during a long phone call almost a year ago and i shall always remember it. I have learnt more about her career as an Athlete and all round brilliant person since then. We thank her very much for giving us an opportunity to interview her for Questions in the Air. Tanni has competed at 5 Paralympic Games, Seoul bronze medal 1988; Barcelona 4 gold medals, 1992; Atlanta 1 gold medal, 3 silver medals, 1996; Sydney 4 gold medals, 2000; Athens 2 gold medals, 2004. Tanni won the London Marathon six times between 1992 and 2002. Held British records in every distance from 100 metres up to 10,000 metres. Current world record holder at 200 and 400 metres. Awarded DBE in 2005. Member of the Laureus World Sports Academy; Patron The Youth Sports Trust; Patron The British Sports Trust; Vice-president Womens Sports Foundation; Vice-president Get Kids Going. Tanni is also a motivational speaker. Council member of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust from January 2006.
1. Who or what influenced you to become an athlete?
I grew up in quite a sporty atmosphere – both my parents loved sport, and I was a naturally competitive person. I think sport was seen as a useful thing for me to do. To start off with it was about being fit and healthy and then later on it was about competition
2. What is your current work and role in sport?
I coach a young athlete who has just competed at the world championships in Osaka. He did well and I was really pleased with his progress. I also advise the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and sit on their Sports Advisory Group. I work with a couple of sports charities, one of which is the Sports Leaders UK. They encourage young people to become leaders in sport, rather than just participating. It is a wonderful charity that does a lot of good work. I sit on the board of UK athletics, which is the governing body in the UK…. I have only just joined and I am expecting a couple of interesting years ahead.
3 What does it feel like to be a Paralympic champion?
It feels great, but a lot of people don’t realise all the work involved in getting that far. I trained twice a day, six days a week for a years and years…. The public may only see the 17 secs – 2 mins of a race, but there is so much more to it. There were also times that were disappointing, but that is part of sport.
4. What are your thoughts to flying?
I couldn’t have been an athlete without having to do a reasonable amount of flying !! I would still love to do my PPL but I don’t have the time… this is maybe something that I can do when I properly retire.
5. What is your opinion and solutions to access for people with a range of disabilities to utilize public spaces from restaurants to concerts venues?
I think that the DDA has gone a long way to help such problems, but disabled people themselves also need to be pro-active. If they are treated less favourably than a non-disabled person then they must make a stand….. if there is something that a disabled person wants to do, and can’t do it because of access, then they have to stand up and make a change, not just for themselves but for other people
6. You are involved with some special charities, why is this important to you?
Sadly I am asked to become involved in more charities than I am actually able to help out, but I try and do my bit, because I think that it is important to put something back. It was something that one of my first coaches said to me, and I have always tried to live by that…
7 Where is sport for people with disability going? How accessible is it for disabled people?
It is hard for any young person to get involved in sport, but more so for someone with a disability because the routes through are not so clearly defined. It will take a reasonable amount of determination and it depends on how much you want to do it. I am looking forward to the 2012 Games… I think that it will change the face of Paralympics sport in ways that we can’t yet imagine.
8 What has been your greatest achievement to date?
Winning the 100m in Athens was huge for me. I lost badly in the 800m and it was tough to come back. The thing is being a mother – just when you think you have it sorted Carys will do something to change that….. she is amazing and I can see her changing and developing every day… it is a joy
9 What would you do if you could?
Time travel would be amazing – I would go back to the roman times, as I have just finished making a programme on Hadrians Wall and the impact of it. I don’t think that would happen, so something that is a bit more realistic would be to make sure that I spend more time with my family. You can buy most things but not time
10 What meaningful things do you do that give you satisfaction?
Visit schools – I try to visit as many schools as I can each year to talk to young people about their aspirations. I get upset when I ask young people what they want to do and they say ‘be famous’. When I ask for what, then many don’t know. I tell them that it is about hard work, and planning (and some luck) and you have to know what you want out of life.
11. I have been doing wheel chair basket for the last few years and I love it, what top tip can you give me to become an athlete that could compete at the national level as opposed to street level?
train hard !!!! But you can’t do that straight away – it takes time. You can’t suddenly start training 12 times a week, but you need to build it up over a number of years.
12. What is your ideal example of your perfect day
A nice relaxed start to the day, breakfast with my family (coffee and bacon sandwiches is a real treat !!!) but usually it is cereal and toast… It would have to be in summer so that we can go outside. We live near an owl sanctuary in Redcar, and Carys loves going there, so we would have to go on a visit. We have adopted a turkey vulture called Lurch so we go and visit him (Carys wanted to adopt an owl, but when we got there all the pretty little owls had gone), but I love Lurch really….. he is big and a bit scary… and then it would be a trip to the beach or a picnic.
13 What is your philosophy on life
Make it count… you never know what is going to happen so you have to do it when it matters
14 Who could you be stuck on a desert island with?
Stephen Fry – he knows so much about everything – he would be funny, and you would learn so much
