British Paralympian named to House of Lords

From The Telegraph in the UK:

Four new non-party-political peers recommended by the House of Lords Appointments Commission were announced Feb. 5.

Baroness Grey-Thompson, as the leading Paralympic sportsperson in the history of the Great Britain team, will put her considerable skills and intellect to the areas of sport, disability and youth.

"I feel incredibly honoured to have been considered for this, and to have been accepted into the House of Lords. I went through great nerves as an athlete, but I’ve had sleepless nights about my first speech there,” Grey-Thompson told The Daily Telegraph.

Grey-Thompson, as Grey before she married Dr Ian Thompson, began her international career in 1988 in Seoul, where she won a bronze medal in the 400m.

Yet by her last Paralympic Games in Athens in 2004, she had amassed 16 medals (11 gold, four silver and a bronze) and 13 World Championship medals (six gold, five silver and two bronze).

In Barcelona in 1992, and in Sydney in 2000, she won four gold medals at each Games. Grey-Thompson is also a non-executive director for UK Athletics, sits on the board of the London Marathon and the Board of Transport for London (2008).

She is Chair of the Womens Sports and Fitness Foundation Commission on the Future of Womens Sport.

Her work extends further, as patron of numerous charities including Sportsleaders UK. She is vice-chairman of the Laureus World Sport Academy, and a trustee of the Sport for Good Foundation. She is also a Council Member for the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, and a UNICEF International Inspiration Ambassador.

In 1993 she received an MBE for services to sport, in 2000 the OBE for services to sport and in 2005 was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Sporting honours - apart from the 11 gold medals at the Paralympics and over twenty world records - include being named the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year, and in 2000, she came third in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, behind Steve Redgrave and Denise Lewis.

Baroness Grey-Thompson, who has been a columnist for The Daily Telegraph sports section for over 10 years, said it would be “a day I will remember forever. But the hard work starts now - as I would really like to make a difference.”