Tessa Sanderson

‘The first’ is a phrase that crops up time and time again when reflecting on the incredible career of Tessa Sanderson CBE, one of Great Britain’s greatest ever track and field athletes.

Born in Jamaica, Sanderson was raised by her grandmother before following her parents, who were part of the Windrush Generation over to England when she was six years old.

Tessa Sanderson and Sebastian Coe, Sportswoman and Sportsman, speaking with Princess Anne, 1984

At the Los Angeles Olympic in 1984, Tessa was the first and only British athlete to win an Olympic throwing event.

“Winning Olympic gold, other than having my adopted twins, has been the greatest feat I’ve had – it’s been a dream come true,” explained Sanderson, who topped the podium ahead of Finland’s Tiina Lillak and great rival Fatima Whitbread in 1984.

Sanderson’s remarkable longevity at the top is also unmatched, becoming the first and only British woman to date to compete at six successive Olympic Games over two decades.

Having joined Wolverhampton & Bilston AC, her rise through the ranks was rapid and she won the first of eight British javelin titles in 1975 before making her Olympic debut in Montreal a year later.

She is a trailblazer in every sense of the word and while society may have come a long way since her Olympic triumph almost four decades ago, the 65-year-old is still fighting for and promoting black voices – especially in the boardrooms.