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IT seems strange to think of a Welsh team competing at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India without Tanni Grey-Thompson in their ranks.
Born in Cardiff in 1969, Tanni has been confined to a wheelchair from a young age through spina bifida but it has not stopped her from becoming one of the most recognised Welsh athletes worldwide and a wonderful ambassador for paralympic sport.
 Although she tried basketball and swimming as a girl, she was drawn to athletics, especially after watching the London Marathon on TV. At 13 Tanni began racing and her first big achievement came at the age of 15 when she unexpectedly won the Welsh junior title in the 100m.
And there's been no stopping her since as she smashed a string of world records and won numerous titles including 11 Olympic gold medals at the Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney and Athens games. In all she has collected 16 Olympic medals and has also won the London Marathon six times, her victory in April 2002 coming just two months after the birth of her daughter Carys.
Her sporting achievements have led Tanni to a successful career in the media as a presenter of the BBC Wales consumer programme X-Ray.
She has been voted BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year on three occasions - in 1992, 2000 and 2004 - and was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year Honours List in December 2004, after being awarded an an MBE in 1992 in recognition of her work for disabled sports, and an OBE in 2000.
But sadly she won't be adding to her paralympic medal haul at the Commonwealth Games in India. The Team Wales captain from Melbourne conceded that her fourth place in the 800m final would mark her final competitive appearance for her homeland, although she does not plan to retire from racing just yet.
"It's sad but I won't be competing in four years," said the 37-year-old from Penarth, who now lives in Redcar. "I'll be competing for the rest of this season and I'll decide in September whether Beijing 2008 is realistic."
Tanni's Paralympic Games Medals |
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1988 Seoul - Bronze in 400m
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1992 Barcelona - Gold in 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m; silver in 4x100m relay
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1996 Atlanta - Gold in 800m; silver in 100m, 200m and 400m
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2000 Sydney - Gold in 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m
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2004 Athens - Gold in 100m and 400m
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But Thompson said the Wales team had done her proud in Melbourne, "We're only a small country, but everyone has competed so well. I wouldn't have swapped my years with Wales for the world, it's been amazing."
In May, Tanni will return to Manchester for the Paralympic World Cup. More than 50 countries are expected in the city for the four-sport event. Athletics is one of the sports featured at the World Cup, along with swimming, cycling and basketball.
"When I decide it is the time to retire, that's when I will make my announcement," said Tanni. "At the moment I haven't a clue. But I can't see me going on much longer to be honest.
"However, when I knew about Manchester and the World Cup it was one of those things I thought would be nice to do. It's important we keep the profile of paralympic sport really high."
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