By any objective measure, Dame Sarah Storey might be Great Britain's greatest sportsperson. Her incredible tally of 19 Paralympic gold medals puts her joint fifth on the all-time list and is comfortably clear of any other British Olympian or Paralympian.
When silvers and bronzes are taken into account, she actually has 30 Paralympic medals accrued over a 32-year period from Barcelona 1992 to Paris 2024 – giving her longevity at the elite level that few, if any, other British athletes can match.
That frankly ridiculous haul also comes from both swimming and cycling – when mastering one sport is hard enough, conquering two is truly remarkable. Given her accomplishments, Storey should be a household name, an instantly recognisable face and one of the first names to pass the lips of those discussing GB’s greatest sporting star.
Yet somehow, the 47-year-old flies slightly under the radar. She’s hardly an unknown, having received a damehood after London 2012 and been nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year (Spoty) on four occasions (although she is yet to finish in the top three), but still hasn’t truly broken through into the public consciousness in the way many lesser sporting lights have.
She was due to appear on ITV’s reality show Dancing on Ice this winter but was forced to pull out earlier this month after fracturing her left ankle in training.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Champion Humphries eases through to last 16
World number one Luke Humphries continued his bid for back-to-back World Championship titles after easing through to the last 16 last night.
Contract conundrum won't distract Reds' title charge
New year, new context. Liverpool will enter 2025 top of the Premier League, a year of seismic change that could have sent them spiralling downwards instead sees them ending on a high.
Gunners edge victory against battling Ipswich
Arsenal moved into second place in the Premier League table with a 1-0 win over Ipswich at the Emirates.
'They are erasing us. They are erasing our history'
Indie filmmaker Arfat Sheikh was increasingly frustrated by mainstream cinema’s depiction of Kashmir and its people so he decided to make his own. Maroosha Muzaffar reports
South Korea’s MPs vote to impeach acting president
South Korea's parliament impeached acting president Han Duck Soo yesterday, just two weeks after similarly punishing president Yoon Suk Yeol for briefly declaring martial law earlier this month.
Russian air defence 'likely' behind crash that killed 38
The deadly Christmas Day crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan was likely caused by a Russian air defence system, military and aviation experts have said.
'We cannot wait for peace before beginning to rebuild'
As fears mount for Ukraine's future in light of the re-election of Trump, Tom Watling speaks to politicians, military experts and aid workers to discover what the coming year could hold
Quad bike crash leaves girl with life-changing injuries
A child has been left with life-changing injuries after the quad bike she was riding on crashed into a telegraph pole outside a high-street pub on Boxing Day.
Christmas travel chaos as fog causes mass flight delays
Airline passengers hoping to jet off ahead of the New Year were hit by severe delays, as thick fog caused chaos at the UK's busiest airports.
Snow could sweep through UK as new year approaches
Britons are bracing for snowfall and a sharp drop in temperatures, which are set to fall to -2C on New Year's Eve in some places.
