Fatima Whitbread

Fatima Whitbread, (3 March 1961) is a British retired javelin thrower.

Fatima Vedad was born on 3 March 1961 in Stoke Newington, London, to a Turkish Cypriot mother and Greek Cypriot father.

She grew up in a series of children's homes, occasionally being left in the care of her abusive biological mother.

According to her account, she had taken up an interest in track and field events after being inspired by the myth of Atalanta, "whom no man could outrun except by cheating, and whose javelin killed a terrible monster"; and by Mary Peters, who won the gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics' women's pentathlon.

Vedad met javelin thrower David Ottley at a stadium and asked him if she could use his javelin.

He asked her to wait until the coach arrived.

The coach was Margaret Whitbread, a physical education teacher at a local school, whom Vedad had previously met when Whitbread refereed a netball match that she played in.

After discovering that Vedad stayed at a children's home, Margaret Whitbread passed on some boots and a javelin from a girl who had retired from the event.

Three years later, Vedad was adopted by Margaret Whitbread and her family.

She spent her teenage years in Chadwell St Mary, Essex, where she attended the Torells School in nearby Grays.

Whitbread won the 1977 English Schools' Athletics Championships intermediate title, and was selected for the 1978 Commonwealth Games, where she finished sixth.

Whitbread won the English Schools' Athletics Championships intermediate title in 1977, and set a national intermediate record of in winning the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) women's championship the following month.

She placed sixth in the javelin throw at the 1978 Commonwealth Games, throwing.

The following year, she took gold at the 1979 European Athletics Junior Championships.

During her career, she had a well-publicised rivalry with another British javelin athlete, Tessa Sanderson.

Whitbread won gold in the javelin event at the 1979 European Athletics Junior Championships, throwing.

She was selected for the 1980 Summer Olympics event, but, achieving only

, she failed to qualify for the final.

She won the same medals, respectively, in the Commonwealth Games of 1982 and 1986.

After a difficult early childhood, Fatima Vedad was adopted by the family of Margaret Whitbread, a javelin coach.

At the 1982 Commonwealth Games, Whitbread took the bronze medal, throwing, which was behind champion Sue Howland, from Australia.

Having finished behind fellow British competitor Tessa Sanderson in a run of 18 competitions, Whitbread finally defeated her rival with a throw of to win the UK Athletics Championship in 1983, Whitbread won the silver medal at the inaugural World Championships in 1983, having narrowly qualified for the final.

She led throughout the final until Tiina Lillak bettered her mark with her last throw of the contest.

She is also a two-time Olympic medallist, winning bronze at the 1984 Summer Olympics and silver at the 1988 Summer Olympics.

A few days before the 1984 Summer Olympics, Whitbread had a stomach operation but was still able to travel to the Games and compete.

She finished in the bronze medal position, with, and Sanderson won gold.

Lillak, who had a stress fracture in her right foot, won the silver medal.

After the result, Whitbread commented that "I am so disappointed... I was not right on the night."

She broke the world record with a throw of in the qualifying round of the 1986 European Athletics Championships in Stuttgart, and became the first British athlete to set a world record in a throwing event.

Whitbread's later career was affected by a long-term shoulder injury, which she believed dated back to her world record throw in 1986.

She was named the Sports Writers' Association Sportswoman of the Year in 1986 and 1987.

At the 1986 Commonwealth Games in July, Whitbread broke the Games record twice during her first three throws, and led with a distance of, before Sanderson achieved and won.

Whitbread went on to win the European title that year, and took the gold medal at the 1987 World Championships.

She was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1987 Birthday Honours, for services to athletics.

She was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1987 and received the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award in 2023 in recognition of her triumph over the adversity of her childhood, and her continued work on behalf of other children in care environments.

The 1990 UK Athletics Championships was the last event in which she participated, sustaining a further shoulder injury there.

In 1992 she formally retired from competition.

In a 2003 interview with The Observer, she said, "it was a nightmare of a childhood and it was only because I loved sport so much that I got through it and met my true mother."

Vedad started throwing the javelin aged 11.

In later years, Whitbread has appeared on several television programmes, including I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2011 and 2023, in which she finished in third place both times.