Tanni Grey-Thompson is the most successful British Paralympian of all time. She is also a Laureus Academy Member and has travelled the world supporting the Sport for Good message. During the recent Laureus Awards weekend, Tanni took some time to give her thoughts on Laureus.com on some issues close to her heart.
Tanni was speaking on Laureus.com just ahead of last Monday's Awards in London
On how sport helped in Tanni’s youth
I was quite shy when I was young, so it really helped in terms of meeting people. When I was younger, attitudes to disabled people weren’t as positive as now. There was huge discrimination and sport gave me the confidence to deal with that – and of course the health and fitness side. When I became paralysed at seven there were no dropped curbs, public transport was not accessible, so being healthier made it much easier to deal with those things. It crossed over into every aspect of my life.
On sport engaging young people
If you get sport, you get how it can change lives, that is why Laureus research is so important, so you can show that if you do this much exercise then this is what happens. Young people get a tough deal.
It’s hard for young people to fight their way out of the hand they’ve been dealt and sport is an important part of that.
On disabled role models such as Oscar Pistorius and Natalie du Toit
It’s really important. When I was growing up you didn’t see many disabled people on the streets let alone in the media or sport. And it was well into my ‘teens before the London Marathon began a wheelchair race. There were lots of people I admired in sport, but nobody I could completely relate to, so it’s really important to have that now both for disabled young people but also non-disabled young people, so they can realise that being disabled is not the worst thing that can happen. It’s not the worst thing that’s happened to me, not even close! It’s about changing perceptions.
Tanni poses in front of her Graffiti likeness at the Laureus Awards Welcome party last week
On Paralympians competing in mainstream Olympics and the future of Paralympics
It’s a really important time for the Paralympics to figure out where it’s going. We’ve crammed into 40 years of evolution what the Olympics did in several hundred years of sport. Now it’s a really important time for the Paralympics to think about what events are needed. The idea of the Paralympics was because athletes were excluded because of discrimination. If there are events where they aren’t [at a disadvantage because of their disability] like Natalie du Toit [Paralympic open water swimmer] then there isn’t a reason why they can’t compete in mainstream Games. It’s about what we want the Paralympic Games to be, where we want them to be in 10 or 12 years time and whether we always want it to be separate?
One of the highlights of the Awards weekend had to be the very first ‘Sport for Good Youth Festival.’
Edwin Moses, Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy, led a huge number of Laureus Academy Members and Ambassadors when they visited Millwall Football Club the morning of Monday’s Laureus Awards to see participants of the Urban Stars project at work.
Laureus Academy Chairman Edwin Moses kicks off the Sport for Good Festival
Some of the greatest names in sport were shown first hand how their support for the good work carried out by Laureus and the projects they support was changing lives and communities for the better.
Boris Becker, Mike Horn and Tegla Loroupe watch as project members demonstrate some boxing exercises.
And they were so impressed the Laureus Academy Members and Ambassadors started getting in on the action themselves.
Boris Becker takes part in some of the action as Daley Thompson watches.
Former 200m sprint world champion Frankie Fredericks, a Laureus Ambassador, joined in a six-a-side football match. Laureus Academy Member Nadia Comaneci, the greatest gymnast of her generation, held a group of girls spellbound as she told of the commitment and training needed to achieve success, and former world boxing champion Barry McGuigan even gave some tips to pugilistic enthusiasts.
Barry McGuigan, Laureus Ambassador, gives some tips to a young boxing enthusiast
The hive of activity within the Lions Centre, a giant sports hall, demonstrated the positive role that sport can play in unlocking the leadership potential of youth in the United Kingdom.
The Sport for Good message was exemplified no better than by Ibrahim Kanu, an 18-year-old from the Elephant and Castle district of London, who told Laureus Academy Members, Ambassadors and guests his own very personal story.
Kanu said: “Before I got involved with Urban Stars I was mainly hanging around the streets causing trouble and not doing anything beneficial towards my life. But attending an Urban Stars sports session was a big mark for me. From that moment I knew I really wanted to get involved in sports in any way possible.”
Ibrahim Kanu
Urban Stars offered Kanu focus to his life and gave him the confidence to go on in education and gain 11 GCSE examination passes.
Kanu is now at Middlesex University studying sports and exercise science, he has attained Level One coaching badges in football and basketball, and he has stayed with Urban Stars as a volunteer.
He said: “In my opinion, if Laureus had never been around to fund projects like Urban Stars, I wouldn’t be the person I am right now.
“And Urban Stars hasn’t only had an effect on me. It has helped build a wonderful atmosphere within my community where it has got other people doing beneficial things for themselves and for others.”
The occasion also provided an opportunity for a delighted Moses to award certificates to those young Londoners who had completed the Urban Stars training, delivered by Laureus’ UK-based partner the Active Communities Network.
Andrew Mongi, a young member of Urban Stars, is congratulated by Moses
Moses said: “Urban Stars is a fantastic initiative which we hope to duplicate. It is interesting because we have some of the original kids here who were helped by the project, and they’ve now become team leaders themselves and are helping a new generation.
“As an organisation, that’s the area Laureus is moving into – training and developing project leaders who can work at the grass roots. From that sense, Urban Stars is very important to us in terms of being a model for internal growth.”
One of these successful young people is Andrew Mongi. Addressing the attendees on stage, he told everyone that thanks to the support of Laureus and Urban Stars, he is now training as a graphic artist and has even done work for the Urban Stars website.
Having spent time at the Laureus-supported Urban Stars project, Andrew is now starting his own graphic design business
Once he had left the stage Andrew told Laureus.com: “Through sport I really have learnt valuable day-to-day skills. I can’t imagine where I would be without Urban Stars, now I have even started my own graphic design business.”
Keep up to date with how Laureus is using sport to change lives by following on twitter @LaureusSport
When it comes to fresh and exciting street art, one of the best places has to be London. And to celebrate the coming together of the UK capital and the Laureus World Sports Awards, a special wall of graffiti was put together depicting some true legends of the sporting world.
The Laureus Graffiti Wall
Oscar Pistorius is up for two honours at Monday’s Laureus Awards: the Breakthrough of the Year and the Sportsperson with a disability of the Year.
Laureus.com caught up with him in the run-up to the Awards to ask a few questions.
Oscar Pistorius
Question:
You have achieved quite a remarkable double this year by being nominated for two Laureus Awards – the Breakthrough of the Year Award and the Disability Award – what does that mean to you?
Oscar Pistorius
Being nominated for Breakthrough and Athlete with a Disability is extremely important to me. Obviously, it’s pretty humbling, I guess, if you consider that it’s the world’s media that, you know, nominate through the first round so it’s very humbling. I’ve been to the Laureus Awards and seen the scale that it’s been held on several times, and it’s just a completely amazing experience.
Question:
Does it make a difference that the people who are voting, the 47 members of the Academy, have all been there and done it?
Oscar Pistorius
It makes it a lot more meaningful that the 47 Laureus Academy Members are the ones that are choosing the winners. These are all sportsmen that have been probably the greatest in their, in their careers, in their fields of play. It’s always a lot more, for me, the weight that somebody like that carries is a lot more than, than somebody that’s just a critic…….these are icons in their sports and legends and it’s really humbling.
Question:
Could you have ever imagined for an Award you would be up against Yohan Blake, Mo Farah, Petra Kvitova, the Wimbledon Champion, Rory McIlroy, US Open golf champion, Li Na, who won the French Open tennis?
Oscar Pistorius
Yeah, I think if you look at the nature of the sportsmen that I’m competing with in this, in this field, I’m just extremely privileged just to be considered a part of them. I mean, I watched Yohan Blake’s race at the World Champsionships. You know, I’m an avid golf fan, so I’ve watched all the guys playing throughout the year, the guys that
have been nominated. It’s hard to think that my name is up there amongst theirs.
Question:
And good for Paralympic sport that a Paralympic sportsman is in this category with people who are competing in non-Paralympic sport?
Oscar Pistorius
If I look how the difference is between 2004 in Athens and 2008 in Beijing, how the transformation and education surrounding disability to the general public has changed and then from 2008 to now in London, I’m sure it’s going to be even more. London’s probably one of the most international cities in the world and I think the platform that the Paralympics has there to show the world that Paralympic sports is just like any other sport, you know. Yes, it’s inspirational, but it’s hardcore sports, it’s athletes training year in and year out. There’s victories, there’s triumph but there’s also disappointment. I think Paralympic sports have come an extremely long way and I’m excited to see that international people that have never been exposed to Paralympic sports, that have very limited knowledge about people living with disabilities, are going to be able to witness it first hand and I think their perceptions are definitely changing. The Laureus Awards and being nominated in these fields definitely does show that the platform that Paralympic sports is operating on is growing tremendously and it makes me very proud.
Question:
And of course, this Olympic year, the Laureus Awards are being held in London?
Oscar Pistorius
I think hosting the Laureus Awards in London is definitely going to be special. With the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012, it’s going to go down in British history for a 100 years and having the Laureus Awards in the same city in the same year is definitely very special. I know whenever I get to London for the last two years, all I think about is 2012 and you’re constantly taking up the smell of the air, the people, that buzz. And being 2012, this is the year that we’re going to be competing and having the Laureus Awards there is extremely special.
Question:
Laureus isn’t just about the Awards, it’s about the Foundation. You’ve recently just come back from a Laureus visit to Tanzania?
Oscar Pistorius
Being a Laureus Ambassador is a great honour. We’ve recently come back from a trip in Tanzania, where we were able to work with a project that’s trying to change developments in sport for 400,000 young kids in the country. Just being able to be part of something like that is extremely touching. It was a bit emotional, if you look at how little the people they have and yet how happy they are when they’re given the, the ability just to practise sports. The conventional sports that they play they use as platforms to teach kids important messages like HIV/AIDS and Malaria. We take for granted a lot of things in our own countries where we’ve had the education from a young age, or the issues aren’t as prominent as they are in Africa and yet, you know, Laureus does a phenomenal job in highlighting these key issues. Kids are very difficult sometimes to get a foot in the door with, you need a platform and there’s no better platform than sport. I think the key messages that they’re delivering to these children are priceless. These are things that can change their lives and also they’re playing sport, show they have a great time, learn the rules of the game and also learn how to be gracious when they win. They learn how to have fun with their friends, respect each other and hard work, but I think, ultimately, the lessons that they learn behind the scenes are far more important. I think the work that Laureus is doing is very priceless.
Question:
Did you have a chance to mix with the kids in Tanzania? What kind of things were they saying to you?
Oscar Pistorius
We got a lot of time to mix with the kids. We got to play some football with them. We played football for a, a girls’ team. I think the girls were aged between 6 and probably about 10 or 12. We also got to play a couple of other games, we played volleyball, we played this other game where you have like these tags that are stuck on you and the kids are quite clever, they fold their belts inside out, so you can’t pull the tags out, and you run in a circle and you have to gather as many tags as possible.
It was just great and amazing to see it because these kids had no idea who I was and then [when] they see my legs…..I was laughing. I said to one ‘you can feel my prosthetic leg, so he was feeling it and before, you know, ten seconds was up, there was probably 20 kids squeezing my legs.’ And the next moment, I had those kids squeezing my arm to check if my arm was real and I was like “Hey, buddy, you know that is real”. Kids are very honest and very untainted by opinion or stereotypes and it’s very special. You go to a country like that, where there is really nothing and yet they’re so grateful for the things they have. Being able to spend time with the kids, we often leave with an experience that has far more meaning to us than anything else so, yeah, definitely, [it was] one of the highlights of my year and it was a very special thing and something I’ll definitely remember for a long time.
Question:
Well sport obviously has given you an awful lot. Is that why you want to connect with these kids and give something back?
Oscar Pistorius
Sport has been unbelievable to me. Never in my wildest dreams, even as teenager, [did I] imagine where I’d be today. And it’s something that I look back at and I’m very fortunate. If you look at African kids in general, there’s so many of them that have these talents, that have passion for sports. To give back a little bit, even if they don’t become professional sportsmen, but they at least enjoy what they’re doing and they find a zest for something, is invaluable. A parent can teach a child to be hardworking, you teach a child to be consistent, you know, sport’s one of these things that just teaches you all of these lessons and many of these kids wouldn’t have had that opportunity if it wasn’t for Laureus. I’ve seen how much sport has done for me. As a kid, I was never great at academics, but [my parents] always allowed me to participate in sport and even if I wasn’t great at the sports, they said it’s not about being the best, but it’s about getting involved and,these are….the kind of lessons that [the kids] take away from it.
Question
Are you a man who has goals? Do you have targets or do you just let the year unfold?
Oscar Pistorius
Yeah, I think, I’m somebody that likes to set goals and targets but I’m also somebody that likes to work for the now. I like to wake up in the morning and know that today is part of a bigger picture, but today is its own day and the training sessions that I’ve got, I need to make of it the best that I possibly can so looking into 2012, you know, I’m excited for the opportunities that lie ahead. The Paralympics is going to be a phenomenal experience, I’ll be running the 100, the 200, the 400 and 4×100 relay for the first time. And then the Olympic Games of which I’ve run one ‘A’ qualification time, but it’s still going to be a couple of months until I run a second ‘A’ qualification time and although I’ve got that target and that goal in mind, there’s a lot that needs to happen.
Question:
After an amazing 2011 with hopefully an amazing 2012 to come, where is Oscar Pistorius now?
Oscar Pistorius
You know, with 2011 being a great season and my best to date, going to 2012 definitely gives me a lot more confidence after last year. I know that I can do the times, that I’m capable of doing, the times I need to do but it makes it a lot more exciting for me, in a sense a lot more nerve-racking. You know, now that I’ve run the times, there’s a lot of pressure that I’ll do it again, which I want to but you constantly have to know that if you don’t work hard, you know, that opportunity can pass, and this is an opportunity that comes once in a lifetime, so yeah, every day you wake up, every time you put a meal or something in your body, you have to think about, is it productive to your sports, is it going to make you quicker or better or recover faster and then every time you train, you get to the training session and you know that you must put in the best work that you possibly can do. So, very excited for this year, coming off the 2011 season and we’ll wait and see what happens. I think the next six months is going to be very interesting.
For those that love sport, there is often no greater hero than their favourite sportsperson.
Whether your sport of choice is football, hockey, tennis or athletics, watching someone achieve incredible, almost superhuman things, not only entertains, but inspires. It leaves us marveling at how the impossible can be made possible right before our eyes…
And this is what is celebrated at the Laureus World Sports Awards every year.
But it isn’t enough to say the Awards celebrates achievement alone. This is because it also celebrates the importance of these sportspeople to those they inspire and how positive their achievements can be to both the lives of others and communities around the world.
And in 2011, many of the Nominees did just that.
Take Nominee for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award Novak Djokovic who has become a true role model in his home country.
Novak Djokovic
Reflecting on the remarkable influence Djokovic has had on his country through his achievements, tennis legend Boris Becker has said: “Novak showed throughout his remarkable 2011 how important his home-country is to him, but it’s also the case that he has come to be important to those of his country too. He’s become a source of energy to the Serbian people and has made sure his victories are considered the victories of all Serbs back home as well.
Meanwhile, the breakthroughs for some particular sportspeople this past year have even helped prove that the hardships people face should never have to deny them their dreams.
This has been demonstrated no better than by Nominee for both Breakthrough and Sportsperson with a Disability of the Year Awards Oscar Pistorius.
Oscar Pistorius
Though born with congenital absence of the fibula, necessitating the amputation of both legs at an early age, Oscar raced at the World Athletics Championships in 2011 and even won a medal for his participation in the South Africa 4×400 relay team.
Speaking of Oscar’s achievements in terms of what it meant for the future of Paralympic athletics, Edwin Moses, Chairman of the Laureus Academy, said: ‘ This opens up a whole new era in track and field.’
And demonstrating how important he and his achievements were to other people with disabilities, legendary Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson said: ‘[This] proves that if you have the talent, ability and passion, you can achieve your goals.’
And what’s also been shown in 2011 has been the restorative and uplifting effect sport can have on a country whose people have been forced to face tragedy and loss.
Following the devastating earthquakes that have recently afflicted the country, for example, hosting the Rugby World Cup proved to be a remarkable source of pride and strength for New Zealand, whose national rugby team have been nominated for Team of the Year.
All Blacks
Speaking on this, Sean Fitzpatrick, the legendary All Blacks hooker, said: ‘Nothing can explain just how important it was to New Zealand to host the Rugby World Cup following the terrible earthquakes that struck the Christchurch area in 2011. It truly helped galvanise the people of the Long White Cloud (New Zealand), giving them something to take real pride in. That the All Blacks actually won, was simply the stuff of dreams.’
This is why celebrating greatness at the Awards reflects the ongoing work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation in both spirit and effect.
That’s because both truly do champion how sport can be an inspirational and empowering tool in the journey toward a better future, regardless of whether it is at an awards ceremony in London or a young boy’s favourite football pitch in in his home town.
Let us know how sport has changed your life for the better in the box below or on Twitter @LaureusSport.
