From Paralympic Golds To The House Of Lords with Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson

“In the whole of my career, I lost more races than I won. I think people like to look at the medals, but don’t necessarily look at the other side of it.” 

40 Minute Mentor is officially back for Series 8! 

We’re kicking off this new series with the amazing Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Britain’s greatest Paralympic athlete, who has won 11 Gold medals and broke 30 world records throughout her career. 

Following her competing years, Tanni was created a life peer and is a Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords. 

In today’s episode, we get a really candid insight into Tanni’s life and career, including: 

➡️ Why setbacks have been so important to her success as a Paralympian [03:10]

➡️ Her upbringing and why her parents fought to keep her in a mainstream school [04:09]

➡️ What made her fall in love with wheelchair racing and what it was like to make the British squad at age 17 [07:27]

➡️ Her experience of her first Paralympics and the journey to Seoul [09:39] 

➡️ How you consistently push yourself and build the resilience to keep going [13:52] 

➡️ Why she never saw anything as a sacrifice [15:57]

➡️ Why breaking the 400 meter world record stands out from all her successes [20:50] 

➡️ How she decided to retire and her advice for anyone transitioning careers [22:30] 

➡️ How she transitioned to a career in Politics and the issues closest to her heart [27:41]

➡️ Why getting into sports is such a great opportunity and how people can get motivated [31:32]

➡️ And why it’s so important to open up and talk to people when the going gets tough [33:04] 

 

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ More about Tanni: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanni-grey-thompson-9a6b84a6/

➡️ For mental health support, we recommend: 

• Mental Health Foundation - https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk
• The Samaritans can be reached on 116 12
• And for local help and support, call the Mind Infoline at 0300 123 3393 or text 86463

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To learn more about Alchemist and see how they work with some of the most innovative companies in the world, head over to https://thisisalchemist.com/40minutementor/  to find out more. 

 

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