The 11-time Paralympic champion, who has taken the title Baroness Grey-Thompson of Eaglescliffe - after the town in County of Durham close to her home - was appointed to the Lords in February.

She told Peers: "I spent 20 years of my life having the privilege of wearing a British tracksuit competing for our country.

"That is something that will always be truly special.

"I hope that I have learnt through my athletics career that to be successful requires time to learn the rules, persistence but, above all, hard work.

"I sincerely hope that I can serve this House well."

Grey-Thompson used a debate on the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics as an opportunity to address the House for the first time, focussing on the opportunities that they offered to advance equality for the disabled.

She said: "When I started in athletics some 27 years ago, the United Kingdom was a very different place for disabled people.

"My parents fought hard to get me into mainstream education - something that I strongly believe gave me the right platform on which to build my sporting career.

"Back then, the word 'Paralympic' and the spirit that the Games came to represent were not yet known.

"As I am sure many noble Lords will be aware, it was at Stoke Mandeville that Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann, the eminent spinal surgeon, recognised that disabled people not only enjoyed doing sport but indeed were competitive.

"Sport then and now continues to help challenge attitudes towards disabled people, and in 1960 the first international games for disabled people were held.

"In my early career, two things had a profound effect on me: watching the 1984 Olympic Games [in Los Angeles] and the noble Lord, Lord Coe; and, in 1985, seeing a fellow Welsh wheelchair athlete, Chris Hallam, win the London Marathon.

"Those inspired me to take sport more seriously.

"It changed my life.

"I became involved in the bid for 2012 because from the beginning it was not about hosting the Olympics and then having to put on another event a couple of weeks later; it was about organising the Olympic and Paralympic Games with one committee of the same high quality.

"For me, the Paralympic Games have two messages.

"They are about one person or a team winning and the rest not - about sport at its purest level - and about spreading inclusion and change."

Grey-Thompson claimed that London's promise to host integrated Games would shape the future of the Paralympics.

She told the Lords: "London has led the way in organising a Paralympic Games that will raise the bar for sponsorship, sustainability, transport and inclusion that other countries will want to follow.

"The Games grow every quadrennial, and nations want to be part of them, but for that they need social provision for disabled people.
"This is just one way in which the Games extend influence."

Grey-Thompson told Peers that Beijing hosting the Paralympics had led to a fundamental change in attitudes in China.

She said: "One has only to look at what the Chinese Paralympic team was able to achieve in a few short years, finishing top of the medal table in both 2004 [in Athens] and 2008, to see that change can come.



"I sincerely hope to welcome their team to London in 2012, along with many other countries that are finding it the right time to think about how they provide for their disabled people."

Grey-Thompson said that London 2012 had already made great strides in disability equality but that hosting the Games will advance the cause even further.

She told the House: "There are many examples of good practice within LOCOG.

"Because of its passion for diversity and inclusion, unprecedented numbers of disabled people are applying to work for it, and the organisation has become one of the most attractive employers of choice for disabled people.

"That has happened because we aimed high.

"At the 2012 Games, the British Paralympic team will have about 300 athletes, and through them we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to showcase disability sport and to educate and enthuse the British public, who already show great support."

Grey-Thompson also told Peers that she hopes London 2012 will lead to greater access to physical activity for youngsters, especially girls.

She said: "We know from previous Games that in the autumn of 2012 there should be a spike in participation rates in physical activity, but we need to work hard right now to maximise that, because I believe - perhaps surprisingly - that elite competitive sport is not quite for all.

"Involvement in physical fitness can help lead to improved learning, greater confidence and general wellness: all the things that we want for our young people.

"I recognise that we have to face many challenges in sport in the tough economic times ahead.

"We need to ensure that all young people continue to have access to great physical activity both in and outside school; that disabled children have the right and the opportunity to be included; and that girls find the right environment in which to develop their skills to allow them to compete in the wider world."

Grey-Thompson, arguably one of Britain's most influential female sports administrators, wants London 2012 to open up opportunities for others to follow her.

She said: "We know that currently women are employed in only one in five of the top jobs in sport.

"To be a successful nation, not just in sport but in business, we should challenge that, because sport is a microcosm of society.

"The few weeks of the Games cannot change all these things, nor are they meant to.

"They are meant to be a spectacular showcase of the best that we have to offer. We all need to grasp the opportunity of the Games being on home soil to inspire our nation to think differently and to include every part of our great nation.

"It is an amazing opportunity for us all to pull together."


Related stories
February 2010: Grey-Thompson promoted to House of Lords