Tanni Grey-Thompson: shaping a new future for wheelchair fashion

By Tony Watts - Editor - 12/11/2008

I defy anyone who watched the recent Paralympics not to have been moved to tears by the commitment, energy and sheer enthusiasm of so many athletes from all around the world. 13-year-old Ellie Simmons, double gold winner from the pool, showed what it is like to pour your heart and soul into a sport – and win.

 

But it is thanks to one woman in particular that sports for people with a variety of disabilities have moved into prime time television – albeit still not receiving the media coverage it deserves. That woman is Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson. And meeting her has been something of an ambition of mine for many years: when she was an up and coming athlete I had an opportunity to interview her; but it was deadline day and I passed the brief to a junior reporter. I’ve always regretted that. Watching her career blossom since then has been astonishing: 11 Paralympic gold medals, over 30 world records and winner of the London Marathon a staggering six times.

 

But I get a chance to put that right at the launch of a new showroom from a company called “Indy” at Evesham, which is determined to change the shape of buying disability products. The emphasis is on showing that good design can liberate people and make them feel far more part of the mainstream of society.

 

The wheelchair range includes models which raise the person to allow them to talk to others at their height, and a tilt facility to help them out: and to test them out there’s even an ‘assault course’ which takes you over humps, adverse cambers and even the dreaded gravel.

 

Tanni is there as the guest of honour because her clothes range – Tanni & Anni – sums up the new, feistier attitude superbly. “It’s really difficult for people in wheelchairs to buy High Street clothes,” she says, “so we’ve created High Street fashion that they can put on easily, and look really good in.”

 

Forget dowdy old-fashioned clothing: this is up to the minute, and includes really funky ranges for young people and children. “I have a daughter and started from the question: ‘what would she want to wear?’” says Tanni. There are bibs that don’t look like they’re designed for toddlers, and ladies’ underwear that can accommodate pads, but is feminine and pretty.

 

It’s so refreshing – and an indication of how far respect and
consideration for disabled people has come in recent years… but also a measure of how far it still has to go if this is still considered ‘cutting edge’.

 

So what did she think about the Paralympics coverage? And how did it compare to the Olympics? “Well, we had an hour each evening on BBC and plenty of coverage on Interactive. But no, we still don’t get the same level – but we are getting there. That’s easily the most we’ve ever received.

 

“I was part of the BBC team, but most of the comments I received were complaints about the pink trousers I was wearing!”

 

These days she’s no longer competing – so the 150 and more miles a week training is a thing of the past. But she is just as involved in the sport, putting her experience to good use by serving on the boards of the London Marathon and UK Athletics; recently she was also appointed to the Board of Transport for London.

 

Just as this edition goes to press, she was flying to Tel Aviv to deliver a keynote speech on sport and peace-building, before making a visit to Palestine.

 

And her theme for the event? “Overcoming Hurdles Through Sport”, a brilliant example of what can be achieved with determination allied to talent. What has always intrigued me, as someone who aspires to run (albeit on a infinitely humbler scale) is how Tanni has succeeded at sprint as well as long distance events: runners are strictly divided between sprinters (with ‘fast twitch’ muscles) and long distance ones (with ‘slow twitch’ ones).

 

“Our sport is much more like cycling,” she says, “where you ride for a long distance but everything comes down to the last sprint. I’ve always been a sprinter – hanging on until the last 200 yards!”

 

What also helped Tanni succeed has been her exceptional lung capacity and her willingness to do the sheer number of miles – including hill training. It’s the side of athletics that no-one else sees, but those long hard runs in the cold, the dark and the rain are what put you on the podium. As she succinctly puts it: “No-one sees you all sweaty and covered in snot!”

 

These days, of course, she’s looking trendy and cool. But it’s the hard miles that she’s put in year after year that have put her where she is today: able to speak up for millions of people worldwide who are entitled to an equal shot at life.