Saturday 29 December 2012

Arise Sir Wiggo and other Olympic and Paralympic Honours

Top of the heap in the special list of Olympic and Paralympic honours in the New Year's Honours List have to be the Knighthoods for cyclist Bradley Wiggins and sailor Ben Ainslie, there will also be Dame Sarah Storey for the Swimmer turned Cyclist who had started swimming at the Paralympics 20 years ago to win a British record equaling total of 11 gold medals. Coaches Dave Brailsford (cycling) and David Tanner (Rowing) are also awarded Knighthoods. Tanner has been performance director of GB rowing for 16 years a similar length of time that Brailsford has been involved with British Cycling.

This does mean that Britian's five living most decorated in gold Olympians are all knights Sir Chris Hoy with 6 golds,Sir Steve Redgrave 5, Sir Matthew Pinsent, Sir Bradley Wiggins and Sir Ben Ainslie 4. Sarah Storey joins Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson who became a Dame in 2005, but the other Brit with eleven Paralympic golds Dave Roberts remains with only a CBE, while Mike Kenny, the forgotten Paralympian, who won 16 from 1976-88 is only an MBE.

There are CBEs for gold medalists Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah and David Weir (athletics), Katherine Grainger (rowing) and Victoria Pendleton (cycling).

OBEs go to cycling's golden couple Jason Kenny and Laura Trott, equestrians Charlotte Dujardin and Sophie Christiansen, Andy Murray (tennis) and Ellie Simmonds (swimming).

While MBEs go to
  • Nicola Adams, Luke Campbell and Anthony Joshua (boxing) and Jade Jones (taekwondo)
  • Canoeists Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott, plus Ed McKeever. 
  • Dujardin's dressage team mates Laura Bechtolsheimer and Carl Hester, Christiansen's team mates Natasha Baker, Deborah Criddle and Sophie Wells the show jumpers Scott Brash, Peter Charles and Ben Maher, eventer Mary King. 
  • Triathlete Alistair Brownlee and gymnast Louis Smith
  • Archery's Danielle Brown and Peter Wilson for shooting
  • Heather Lucas in sailing
  • Swimmers Josef Craig, Jonathan Fox, Heather Fredericksen, Oliver Hynd. 
  • Cyclists Steven Burke, Mark Colbourne, Neil Fachie, Philip Hindes, Peter Kennaugh, Dani King, Craig MacLean and Joanna Rowsell
  • Boccia player Nigel Murray
  • Rowers Katherine Copeland, Helen Glover, Alex Gregory, Sophie Hosking, Pam Relph, Naomi Riches, James Roe, David Smith, Heather Stanning, Lily van den Broecke and Anna Watkins
  • Athletes Jessica-Jane Applegate, Mickey Bushell, Hannah Cockroft, Aled Davies, Jonnie Peacock, Josie Pearson, Greg Rutherford and Richard Whitehead
People will have noticed that I haven't split this list  by Olympian or Paralympian because I think they all deserve equal recognition for what they achieved this year.

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