3 Minutes with Olympic Legend, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson

The whole nation is abuzz with excitement and expectation during this period of great sporting history for Britain.

AbilityNet was fortunate enough to grab a few moments with one of Great Britain's most prestigious and successful athletes, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson.

Over her sporting career, Tanni has won a total of 16 Paralympic medals. This includes 11 GOLD medals! She has also held over 30 world records, and won the London Marathon six times between 1992 and 2002.

 Photo: Royal Mail/PA Wire

Between her sporting activities, parliamentary commitments, TV presenting and being a patron to many charities, Tanni has also recently backed the Go-ON-Gold campaign. 

As a key player all the way from the start of the London 2012 Olympic Bid to where we are now, how does it feel to finally have the Games underway?

TGT : "It’s amazing to see it all coming together so well.  It’s understandable that there would be a few problems, but it seems to be OK.  I was a member of the Athlete Commission for the London Games organisation, so have had an involvement in every part of the process, from approving furniture for the athlete village, to the transport arrangements - and I feel really proud of everyone involved."

Do you plan to attend any of the upcoming events?

TGT : "I managed to get tickets in the first ballot for the greco-roman wrestling, and my daughter and I are going to one of the hockey sessions. I am working for the BBC during the Games, so hopefully might see a few other events."

Are there any in particular that you are looking forward to?

TGT: "Like everyone else probably, the men’s 100 metres in athletics, and all of the cycling."

Ability Magazine - Issue 86, Summer 2012

You recently appeared as the Cover Girl for Ability Magazine, featuring in an article about Go ON Gold (a national campaign funded by Nominet Trust that aims to help four million disabled people online). How did you first get involved with that Campaign?

TGT: "I was asked to give an interview initially, I think the guys had noticed that I am a bit of a Twitter fan.  I think it’s important for everyone to have access to the internet, it’s a great way to shop, to interact with other people and use social media. I find Twitter to be quite an effective way of reaching people, and I couldn’t do without online grocery shopping."

You mentioned in a recent interview that you used to communicate via Fax machine with your manager, and it was often difficult to access a nearby machine. With the invention of smart phones, for many people, they now have “power in their pocket” to communicate with ease of accessibility. Do you have a favourite device or a favourite app that you like to use?

TGT: "My iPad 3 is my current favourite, it’s so convenient and easy to use. I have my diary and email set up on it and have been using it recently to Skype with different schools which has been really good fun.  My most useful app in the last few weeks has been the Tour de France app which I have used to follow the cycling as I am commenting on the Olympic road races for the BBC."

We'd like to extend a big thank you to Tanni for taking some time out to do this interview with us.

Keep up-to-date with Tanni on Twitter: @Tanni_GT
www.tanni.co.uk


For more information on the Go ON Gold Campaign, please visit:
http://www.go-on-gold.co.uk/home

If you are interested in Ability Magazine, please visit :
http://www.abilitymagazine.org.uk/

Take a look at Go ON Gold's Video with Tanni: 

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30 DAYS TO GO! - Paralympic Torch Relay - London 2012

Last week we saw the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
There was an incredible display of carefully choreographed dance routines from throughout the history of Great Britain.

Her Majesty the Queen jumped out of a plane with James Bond, whilst Mary Poppins battled away Voldemort and other creatures of the night with her umbrella.

Which leads us with great anticipation of the Paralmypic Opening Ceremony. 30 days to go!
However, first, there is the Torch Relay! And what an exciting one it is too!

Photo From http://www.london2012.com/paralympics

The Torches shall be lit in all four parts of the United Kingdom:
On the 24th August 2012, the Paralympic torch will start its incredible journey in London. 
Then:
25th August: Belfast – City Hall
26th August: Edinburgh – Inverleith Park
27th August: Cardiff – Roald Dahl Plass


On the 28th all four torches will meet in Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire and be combined. They will race together to London in a 24 hour relay and ignite the flame at the opening ceremony on the 29th August 2012.

The Torchbearers include a wide variety of people of all ages and abilities. Here is the official video from London2012 Paralympics Games, showing the places where the Torch will go on its Relay.

AbilityNet Olympic Blog - The Torch Relay

Introduction:

Thursday 26th July 2012 was the day the Olympic Torch relay ran past right near our AbilityNet London office.
Considering it coincided with the start of the working day for many, there was a great turn out to see the flame run past some of London’s most famous landmarks.
Seemed like a good day to kick start one of many blogs we’ll be doing during the course of the Games.

As a Pan-Disability Charity, we have a great interest in what’s to come from our Paralympian Athletes over the next few weeks.

The Paralympic Torch Relay starts on 24th and will finish on the 29th August. 
We’ll be looking at the various sporting events, the different categories for the athletes, and what types of assistive technology they may use in their day to day lives or in training.
Team GB will be using all kinds of different technology to aid them in reaching for those all crucial medals.
It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for many of them to represent their country on the worlds stage, and become role models for generations to come.


On the 31st August, I will be going to watch the Paralympic Athletics in Action! Very excited about that!

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