British Vogue - 09.2019

THE ATHLETES

TANNI GREY-THOMPSON

(on left), Paralympic

wheelchair racer and

gold medallist

“The first thing I noticed about

the girl in the pink tracksuit, at a

school sports day in Middlesbrough

in 2008, was the spark in her eye.

The way she looked at the other

12-year-olds playing in the sports

hall: she wanted to try, just not right

there and then. I invited her to visit

my own track with her mum. It’s

about giving people a chance, and

the rest is down to them. I based

every decision I made from the day

I tried wheelchair racing, aged 12,

around trying to make it as a racer.

The world knows Jade because she

did everything she possibly could

with the chance she had.”

JADE JONES-HALL,

Paralympic wheelchair racer

“I was 16 and so daunted by my first

Paralympics in 2012. A few weeks

before, Tanni sent me a recording of

Jessica Ennis-Hill winning gold.

‘Listen to this while you’re training,’

she told me, ‘because that’s what it’s

going to sound like.’ I flat-out didn’t

believe her. ‘No one comes to the

Paralympics,’ I said. Then I turned

up for my first race, and the noise

of the place, packed with 80,000

people, was just incredible. I doubt

I would have gone into sport if I

hadn’t met Tanni. All it took was

one moment to change so much.”

TANNI WEARS JACKET, £735. TOP,

£290. BOTH MAX MARA. SHOES,

£480, CHURCH’S. TROUSERS,

TANNI’S OWN. JADE WEARS TOP,

£450, JW ANDERSON. TROUSERS,

£895, RUDI GERNREICH. SHOES,

£495, MANOLO BLAHNIK

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