Fatima Whitbread

This episode contains discussion of sexual violence. Listener
discretion is advised.


Fatima Whitbread is a former javelin world champion, double
Olympian and former world record holder. This week she was
honoured with the Helen Rollason Award at Sports Personality of
the Year 2023 for outstanding achievement in the face of
adversity. Fatima was abandoned by her mother as a baby and spent
her first 14 years in care homes. She faced neglect, physical and
sexual abuse. In her teens, she discovered a passion for javelin
and was coached by Margaret Whitbread, a former GB thrower.
Margaret and her husband later adopted Fatima, and described her
as "completing the family unit".