Tanni and daughter Carys celebrate after the gold medal presentation

The Cardiff-born athlete who lives in Teesside won her eleventh gold in Athens at her fifth games.

Former Labour leader and sports fanatic Neil Kinnock told BBC Radio Wales: "If she was Tommy Grey, it would be 'Arise, Sir Tommy', there is no question about that."

She already has an OBE and an MBE.

Mr Kinnock, a former European commissioner and MP for Islwyn, told BBC Radio Wales: "She is quite extraordinary.

We've got Mary Peters as a dame in athletics, so why not Tanni Grey-Thompson? Rob Cole, Welsh Sports Hall of Fame

"The fact of the matter is that this is a young woman who has triumphed over everything.

"I don't think there is anything other than a damehood for her."

Grey-Thompson said she had not yet decided whether to compete in the next Paralympics in Beijing in 2008.

Mr Kinnock pointed out that other athletes, including rower Sir Steve Redgrave, had been honoured.

"If that nice rower man who collected lots of golds gets a knighthood, it is realistic to assume that it will be Dame Tanni, he said."

"It's got a certain ring about it, hasn't it?"

Sports journalist Rob Cole - who is a member of the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame committee - agreed with the suggestion.

"I think we need to seize the moment," he said.

Tanni on her way to gold in the 400m in Athens

"We tend to glorify people in their death, but we, as an institution, are there to honour greatness and to honour the glory that these men and women of Wales have brought to our nation.

"We tend to wait until they have finished, or until they are dead.

"But now we have the chance to honour Tanni in a constructive way to make her an even bigger example to others.

"We've got Mary Peters as a dame in athletics, so why not Tanni Grey-Thompson?"

The 35-year-old athlete was born and raised in Cardiff, and now lives in Redcar, Teesside, with fellow wheelchair athlete Ian Thompson and their two-year-old daughter Carys.

Civic leaders in Redcar have been just as thrilled as those in Wales about her successes.

She is to be offered the freedom of the borough when she returns from Athens, with the local council starting the process at a meeting on Tuesday night.

Local councillor Steve Kay said people were "very proud" of her.

"We know her roots are in Wales," he said. "But she has become a real part of Redcar and Cleveland."

Councillor Chris Abbott added: "We have all been thrilled to see how well Tanni has done in Athens."