Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Newspaper column inches and web pages aplenty were given over this morning to yesterday's retirement of - and Crippled Monkey ain't gonna mince his words here - sporting legend Tanni Grey-Thompson following her . Tanni scooped a silver medal as she took second place in the 200m at the Paralympic World Cup. Whilst it would have been great to see Tanni go out with a gold, on a rain-lashed afternoon in Manchester she herself was philosophical, not to mention rather relieved: "I never have to do a sprint start again and I'm really, really happy to finally call it a day".

Tanni fans needn't worry, however, as despite leaving the track we're going to be seeing plenty more of her. She's heavily involved in plans for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics in London, there are TV presenting jobs on the horizon, and she's coaching a couple of young athletes who are aiming for success in Beijing next year and hopefully London. Perhaps most importantly though, she has been invited to as a non-executive member, with immediate effect. UK Athletics is the body that governs the sport in the United Kingdom, and Tanni will offer an all-important athlete's perspective on the board.

Crippled Monkey has denied all rumours that I am planning to start training to become the country's next hugely successful wheelchair athlete. It all looks a bit tiring to me, frankly. And I've got chips for lunch, too.