BRITAIN'S most successful Paralympian, Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, is all set for an emotional farewell to competition at the Visa Paralympic World Cup this weekend.
The 11-times Paralympic gold medallist from Redcar, east Cleveland, will compete in her favourite event, the T53 200m, at the Manchester Regional Arena on Sunday, before she hangs up her GB vest.
Dame Tanni has been training hard and is determined to go for gold at her last attempt.
However, she is facing some tough competition and knows she will not have things all her own way.
She said: "The pressure's going to be huge because everyone's going to really want to beat me.
"I would be the same with anyone else who was retiring -you want to beat them by as much as you can.
"It is going to be a really interesting race. The American girls, especially, will want to make sure they are pushing me, and it is probably quite motivating for them."
She will also face some complex emotions when she crosses the line for the final time on Sunday. She said: "Some of it will be relief, but I will be sad that it is my last track race.
"I have spoken a lot to other retired athletes and it has been really useful getting their feedback on the experience.
"Pretty much everyone has told me to go and talk to a sports psychologist because it is a big part of my life that is finishing."
Dame Tanni is Britain's best-known Paralympic athlete, having performed at world-class level in distances from 100m to the marathon.
She has won 15 Paralympic medals, including 11 golds, and six gold medals in the London Marathon.
She said: "I have done enough. I think I have done okay, and part of the decision for the retirement was that finally I thought I had done enough and there was not any more emotionally, psychologically or physically that I could do. I'm done."
Phil Lane, chief executive of the British Paralympic Association said: "It is a fitting finale to Tanni's exceptional career that she should compete in her last race on home soil at the Visa Paralympic World Cup."
UK Sport's international director, John Scott, said: "We would like to take this opportunity to wish Tanni Grey-Thompson all the best as she retires from international competition this weekend.
"She has served as a true ambassador for performance sport in this country and we wish her all the best for her final competition."
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