Interview: Tanni Grey-Thompson

By Chris Charles

Weir has enjoyed a fantastic year

Dame Tanni Grey Thompson is backing David Weir to emulate her feat by becoming only the second disabled athlete to make the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award shortlist.

Grey Thompson, who finished third behind Steven Redgrave and Denise Lewis in 2000, said the wheelchair racer deserved to be recognised for his phenomenal achievements this year.

Weir, 27, won three golds and a silver at the recent World Paralympic Athletes Championships, following on from his hat-trick of Paralympic World Cup wins and his victory in the London Marathon. He has also broken two world records in 2006.

Grey Thompson, who claimed gold and silver at the World Championships, told BBC Sport: "David's had an amazing year. He's always been there or thereabouts, but this year everything's clicked for him.

606: DEBATE In a year of slim pickings elsewhere in British sport, is there any reason for him not to be on the shortlist? BBC Sport's Mike Burnett 606: Have your say

"I hope he keeps it going until the Paralympics in Beijing in 2008, because he has the potential to win several golds.

"He must have a good chance of making the Sports Personality shortlist but every year is quite a tough year."

Grey Thompson, 37, who was speaking at a Lord's Taverners charity event to mark the handing over of the 250th specialist racing wheelchair, said her third place in Sports Personality was one of the highlights of her career.

Tanni won four gold medals at Sydney 2000

"It was probably the best thing ever," she said. "It's fantastic to have the public voting for you in such great numbers and to have a disabled athlete in the top three was amazing.

"In the past it would never have happened so it does show that disability sport is improving all the time. There is still a long way to go, but for the public to recognise me as an athlete rather than a disabled person was incredibly important."

The three-times Wales Sports Personality of the Year, who has won 11 Paralympic golds and six London Marathons in a glittering career, admitted it was unlikely she would be joining Weir in Beijing, with retirement plans happening "sooner rather than later".

But she will be attending the Sports Personality ceremony in Birmingham on 10 December.

"It's great - you find yourself sitting and looking around because it's a kind of who's who of sport," she added. "Even now I get quite excited about being there because of the number of different people you see."