The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has discovered swimmer Mike Kenny, who won 16 golds across four Games in the 1970s and 1980s, five more than Dame Tanni.

It makes the target even harder for Dave Roberts, who has won eight Paralympic gold medals with the possibility of another four at the current Games in Beijing.

But now the 28-year-old from Pontypridd, who has cerebral palsy, has a new target following the discovery of Kenny's mark.

The IPC and the British Paralympics Association (BPA) were not established until 1989 and the contention over whether it is Grey-Thompson or Kenny comes when determining the start of the modern Paralympics and the accuracy of prior records.

The Barcelona Games of 1992 - where Grey-Thompson won her first four gold medals - were the first Paralympics under the control of the IPC.

When Grey-Thompson won her 11th gold in Athens four years ago, she was given the tag of Britain's most prolific Paralympian and no-one came forward to contest.

But the IPC database - compiled from book-keeping at the earlier Games - now shows she did not overtake Kenny, whose victories came in various events, including 25-metre sprints in all strokes, events which are not part of the modern Games.

Dame Tani said: ''It's kind of a nice thing to have but it's not something I was really that bothered about - it was more the media.

''It's way tougher on Dave than me.

"Dave has spent the last four years going, 'Right, I need to beat Tanni's record'.

"That, for him, was very motivational, I think.

''And when he got here and was told, 'No, you're not going to', that's really horrible for Dave.''

Grey-Thompson said she was not particularly bothered about losing the record.

She said: ''It was always for me about me being an individual and winning as much as I could.

''It's like world records.

"When you're competing you can get quite obsessed about world records but world records come and go.

''They're not yours, gold medals are yours forever - no one can take those away.''

Roberts is by far the only multi-medallist in the British Paralympics team, with the cyclists particularly prolific.

Equestrian rider Lee Pearson won his seventh and eighth Paralympic medals in Hong Kong last night  to extend his 100 per cent record across three Games.

The 34-year-old from Staffordshire, who has a condition called arthrogryposis which inhibits the development of muscles, could yet secure a ninth later today and is likely to look to London 2012 and beyond.