Tessa Sanderson

{{Infobox sportsperson

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Tessa Sanderson

| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=100%|CBE}}

| image = File:Tessa Sanderson-2.jpg

| imagesize =

| alt = A headshot of Tessa Sanderson

| caption = Sanderson in 2008

| fullname = Theresa Ione Sanderson

| nationality = British (English)

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1956|03|14|df=y}}

| birth_place = St Elizabeth, Colony of Jamaica

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height = 168 cm

| weight = 70 kg

| headercolor = lightsteelblue

| website =

| sport = Athletics

| event = Javelin throw

| club = WBAC

| years_active = 1973–1997

| coach =

| retired =

| coaching =

| worlds =

| regionals =

| nationals =

| olympics =

| paralympics =

| highestranking =

| pb = {{cvt|73.58|m}} (1983)

| medaltemplates =

{{Medal|Country | {{GBR2}} }}

{{MedalCountry| {{ENG}} }}

}}

Theresa Ione Sanderson {{post-nominals|country=UK|CBE}} (born 14 March 1956) is a British former javelin thrower. She appeared in every Summer Olympics from 1976 to 1996, winning the gold medal in the javelin throw at the 1984 Olympics. She was the second track and field athlete to compete at six Olympics, and the first Black British woman to win an Olympic gold medal.

Sanderson won gold medals in the javelin throw at three Commonwealth Games (1978, 1986 and 1990) and at the 1992 IAAF World Cup. She was runner-up at the 1978 European Athletics Championships, and competed in three world championships (1983, 1987, and 1997). Sanderson was UK National Champion three times and AAA National Champion in amateur athletics ten times. She set five Commonwealth records and ten British national records in the javelin, as well as records at the junior and masters levels. During her career, Sanderson had a rivalry with fellow Briton Fatima Whitbread, who took the bronze in the 1984 Olympics.

Outside athletics, Sanderson has made several guest television appearances, and was a sports reporter for Sky News when it began broadcasting in 1989. Sanderson was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1985 and became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2004 New Years Honours. She was Vice-chair of Sport England from 1999 to 2005, and later established the Tessa Sanderson Foundation and Academy, which aims to encourage young people and people with disabilities to take up sport.

Early life

Theresa Ione Sanderson was born on 14 March 1956 in St Elizabeth, Colony of Jamaica.{{cite web |url=https://www.uka.org.uk/ba-home-straight/hall-of-fame-athletes/tessa-sanderson/ |title=Tessa Sanderson |author= |work=UK Athletics |access-date=13 July 2020 |archive-date=12 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812090039/https://www.uka.org.uk/ba-home-straight/hall-of-fame-athletes/tessa-sanderson/ |url-status=live }} Her parents left Jamaica to find work in England when Sanderson was five. She was cared for by her grandmother until she went to live with her parents in Wednesfield (then in Staffordshire) at age six. Barbara Richards, her physical education teacher at Ward's Bridge High School, noted her talent for athletics and encouraged her to succeed; Richards threatened to place Sanderson in after-school detention if she did not train, an approach which Sanderson later said helped.{{Cite news|last=Brasher |first=Christopher |title=The sweet and sour faces of triumph|date=12 August 1984|work=The Observer |page=30}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/tessa-sanderson-i-was-a-mother-at-57-now-im-a-model-at-60/|title=Tessa Sanderson: I was a mother at 57, now I'm a model at 60|last=Lambert|first=Victoria|date=5 November 2016|work=The Telegraph|access-date=19 November 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123115315/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/tessa-sanderson-i-was-a-mother-at-57-now-im-a-model-at-60/|archive-date=23 November 2016|url-status=live |url-access=registration}} She first threw a javelin at age 14, betting with a friend for a bag of chips on who would be able to throw it further.{{cite news |last=Powell |first=David |date=25 May 1996 |title=Joan Collins of javelin aims for dramatic final episode of dynasty – Saturday Portrait |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/0F9249CE3A36530A |work=The Times |location=London |access-date=15 July 2020 |page=42 |url-access=subscription}}

{{anchor|Athletics career}}Athletic career

=Early career=

Sanderson was a member of Wolverhampton & Bilston Athletics Club, competing in the javelin throw and multi-event disciplines. In 1972, aged 16, Sanderson won the Intermediate javelin event at the English Schools' Athletics Championships. She was selected to compete in the javelin throw at the 1973 European Athletics Junior Championships the following year, where she reached the final but finished 12th with a throw of {{T&Fcalc|39.18}}{{snd}}well behind the winner, Tonya Khristova of Bulgaria, who threw {{T&Fcalc|54.84}}.{{cite book |last1=Sanderson |first1=Tessa |last2=Hickman |first2=Leon |title=My Life in Athletics |publisher=Willow Books |location=London |isbn=0002182114 |year=1986 }}{{rp|17–18}} Sanderson then decided to focus on the javelin throw rather than the pentathlon, partly because she thought that javelin competitions would provide more opportunities for travel. She made her senior international debut in the javelin throw at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games, finishing fifth. Later that year, Sanderson finished 13th in the 1974 European Athletics Championships. She broke the British javelin-throw junior record five times, achieving a distance of {{T&Fcalc|55.04}} in 1974. Sanderson set the national record in 1976, throwing {{T&Fcalc|56.14}}, and went on to set ten national records and five Commonwealth records.

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R0710-0022, Ruth Fuchs.jpg, who was the world-record holder when Sanderson made the second-longest javelin throw|alt=Ruth Fuchs throwing a javelin]]

The 1976 season saw Sanderson's debut at the Olympics. Aged 20, she was the youngest competitor in her event and threw {{T&Fcalc|57.00}} to finish ninth. In July 1977, at the European Cup semi-finals in Dublin, she threw {{T&Fcalc|67.20}}{{snd}}a national record and the second-longest distance by a woman at the time.{{cite news | last=Rodda |first=John |date=18 July 1977 |title=Girls through too |work=The Guardian |location=London |page=16}} At the European Cup finals, Ruth Fuchs of East Germany won the gold and Sanderson took the silver.{{cite news | last=Brasher |first=Chris |date=14 August 1977 |title=Ovett first but where was Foster? |work=The Guardian |location=London |page=20}} Later that year, Sanderson was the bronze medalist at the 1977 IAAF World Cup.{{cite news | last=Temple |first=Cliff |date=3 September 1977 |title=Juantorena the star of act one, scene two |work=The Times |location=London |page=20}}

Sanderson won her first major gold medal with a throw of {{T&Fcalc|61.34}} in the 1978 Commonwealth Games, the first time England had won Commonwealth gold in the women's javelin since 1962. A few weeks later, Sanderson took silver at the 1978 European Athletics Championships behind Fuchs;{{cite news | last=Temple |first=Cliff |date=2 September 1978 |title=Capes is disqualified for pushing official before shot put final |work=The Times |location=London |page=4}} she was the bronze medalist at the 1979 European Cup again behind Fuchs, both of them losing out to Romanian Éva Ráduly-Zörgő.{{cite news | author= |date=5 August 1979 |title=Scoreboard: track |work=The Boston Globe |page=70}} Selected for the 1980 Summer Olympics, she failed to meet the qualifying standard for the final, reaching only {{T&Fcalc|48.76}} with her first throw and having her other two attempts declared no-throws.{{cite news | last=Harris |first=Bob |date=24 July 1980 |title=Disaster: Tessa fails to qualify |work=Newcastle Evening Chronicle |location=Newcastle |page=30}}

After the 1980 Summer Olympic Games, Sanderson asked Wilf Paish of the Carnegie Institute of Physical Education in Leeds to become her coach, and lived with his family once he agreed.{{cite news |last=Lamont |first=Tom |date=26 July 2009 |title=Frozen in time |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/jul/26/whitbread-sanderson-paish-javelin-la-olympics |work=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=13 July 2020 |archive-date=13 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713234958/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/jul/26/whitbread-sanderson-paish-javelin-la-olympics |url-status=live }} A throw of {{T&Fcalc|61.56}} was enough for Sanderson to win at the 1981 Pacific Conference Games.{{cite news |agency=United Press International |title=Australia emerged as the top nation of the two-day ... |date=1 February 1981}} At the 1981 European Cup, she was runner-up behind Antoaneta Todorova of Bulgaria who made a world-record throw of {{T&Fcalc|71.88}}.{{cite news | last=Brasher |first=Chris |date=16 August 1981 |title=Wells cuts a fine dash |work=The Observer |location=London |page=18}} She also competed in the pentathlon and heptathlon, setting UK and Commonwealth records for the heptathlon twice in 1981.{{cite web |title=Tessa Sanderson |url=https://www.teamgb.com/athlete/tessa-sanderson/4Q0TDyJAb708hWpyMwXFwK |work=TeamGB |publisher=British Olympic Association |access-date=25 October 2020 |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029215530/https://www.teamgb.com/athlete/tessa-sanderson/4Q0TDyJAb708hWpyMwXFwK |url-status=live }} Later that year, Sanderson had an achilles tendon rupture in her left leg and broke a bone in her throwing arm. Surgery on her Achilles tendon was unsuccessful, and she required another operation; the injuries prevented her from competing for 22 months. After returning, Sanderson achieved her career-best javelin throw of {{T&Fcalc|73.58}} at the Tarmac Games in Edinburgh on 26 June 1983. It was the third-longest throw by a woman at the time, when the record was {{T&Fcalc|74.76}} thrown by Tiina Lillak of Finland ten days previously.{{cite news |last=Bradshaw |first=Bill |title=Whoops, there you go Steve|newspaper=The Journal |location=Newcastle-upon-Tyne |date=27 June 1983 |page=14}} Sanderson finished fourth at the 1983 World Championships; another British competitor, Fatima Whitbread, who was coming to the fore as her rival, won silver.{{cite news |last=Rodda |first=John |date=15 August 1983 |title=Daley looks to extend his domain |work=The Guardian |location=London |page=18}}{{cite book |last1=Knight |first1=Tom |last2=Troop |first2=Nick |title=The Sackville illustrated dictionary of athletics |year=1988 |isbn= 0948615125 |location=Stradbroke |publisher=Sackville |page=130 |quote=By 1983, Britain's Fatima Whitbread had emerged as a serious rival [to Sanderson]}} After re-injuring her Achilles tendon at the championship, Sanderson had surgery on both Achilles tendons a few days after the competition ended.

=Olympic gold and later career=

Sanderson won the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in the javelin, setting a new Olympic record with her throw of {{T&Fcalc|69.56}}. Whitbread won the bronze; it was Great Britain's first Olympic win in a throwing event since the modern Olympics began in 1896.{{cite news | last=Rodda |first=John |date=8 August 1984 |title=Tessa sheds the ghost of Moscow |work=The Guardian |location=London |page=22}}{{Cite web |title=Teresa Sanderson |url=https://olympics.com/en/athletes/teresa-sanderson |access-date=5 March 2022 |archive-date=5 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305111846/https://olympics.com/en/athletes/teresa-sanderson |website=International Olympic Committee |url-status=live }} Sanderson is the first Black British woman to win an Olympic gold medal. Sanderson wrote in her 1986 autobiography that following her Olympic victory, she had not intended to compete in the following athletics season, but she did take part in several competitions after being persuaded by her management company IMG to do so. Although she finished behind Whitbread in five successive meetings, Sanderson did produce the fourth-longest women's javelin throw of the year.{{rp|172}} She won gold at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, and Whitbread took the silver medal.{{cite news | last=Keating |first=Frank |date=1 August 1986|title=Whitbread's bitterness overflows|work=The Guardian |location=London |page=22}}

In March 1987, Sanderson announced that she would change her focus from the javelin throw to the heptathlon. Shortly before then, she had moved to London and was looking for a career in television or promotional work.{{cite news | last=Moore |first=Chris |date=21 March 1987|title=Athletics: Sanderson ready to bring down curtain |work=The Times |location=London |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/0F90F03646B1F433 |via=NewsBank |access-date=14 July 2020 |url-access=subscription}} In fact, she only competed in one heptathlon after this, in July.{{cite book |last=Mazdon |first=Stuart |title=Heptathlon and Pentathlon: a statistical Survey of Women's Combined Events |publisher=National Union of Track Statisticians |year=2012 |page=125 |isbn=9780904612165}} At the Dairy Crest Games in August, Whitbread (who had been undefeated during the season) injured her shoulder; Sanderson won the event. Sanderson then announced that she would train with Mick Hill in Italy for the world championships.{{cite news |last=Rodda |first=John |date=24 August 1987 |title=Peaking on the road to Rome |work=The Guardian |location=London |page=25}} Whitbread won the world championship, and Sanderson finished fourth.{{cite news | last=Keating |first=Frank |date=7 September 1987|title=Fatima spearheads British victories|work=The Guardian |location=London |page=1}}

About ten days before participating in the 1988 Summer Olympics as defending champion, Sanderson burst the skin around her ankle and exposed her Achilles tendon.{{cite news |last=Rodda |first=John |date=15 September 1987|title=Sanderson's schedule cut close to the bone |work=The Guardian |location=London |page=17}} She failed to qualify for the final and left the competition limping, with blood visible on the bandage on her injured ankle.{{cite news |last=Rodda |first=John |date=26 September 1987|title=Reeling under the shock of the new |work=The Guardian |location=London |page=17}} Sanderson left the stadium on crutches before the medal ceremony, where Whitbread received the silver medal behind Petra Felke from East Germany.{{cite news |last=Bierley |first=Stephen |date=27 September 1987|title=Fatima's defiant spear of silver |work=The Guardian |location=London |page=13}}

Sanderson announced after the 1988 Olympics that she would retire from the javelin throw, but made an unexpected return to competition in 1989{{cite news |last=Rodda |first=John |date=16 June 1989|title=Sanderson throws herself back into action among the very best of British |work=The Guardian |location=London |page=20}} at the McVitie's International Challenge; she finished third.{{cite news |author= |date=24 June 1989|title=Results |work=The Guardian |location=London |page=20}} She also finished third at the 1989 European Cup, despite not being in top condition.{{cite news |last=Rodda |first=John|date=7 August 1989 |title=All hands see off the best of Europe |work=The Guardian |location=London |page=14}} At the 1990 Commonwealth Games, a throw of {{T&Fcalc|65.72}} was enough for Sanderson to retain her title.{{cite news |last=Engel |first=Matthew |date=2 February 1999|title=Coe saves deposit as Sanderson loses her cool |work=The Guardian |location=London |page=20}} She finished 12th at the 1990 European Athletics Championships,{{cite news |author= |date=31 August 1990 |title=Track & field |work=USA Today |page=11C}} but was later moved up to 11th.{{cite news| date = 5 October 1990| title = Verspringer Maas neemt EK-brons van Bilac over| trans-title = Long jumper Maas takes over European Championship bronze from Bilac| url = http://www.nrc.nl/handelsblad/van/1990/oktober/05/verspringer-maas-neemt-ek-brons-van-bilac-over-6943052| work =NRC Handelsblad| language = nl| access-date = 21 September 2014| archive-date = 11 July 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150711200630/http://www.nrc.nl/handelsblad/van/1990/oktober/05/verspringer-maas-neemt-ek-brons-van-bilac-over-6943052| url-status = live |url-access=subscription}}{{cite news| date = 6 October 1990| title = Doping bei EM| trans-title = Doping in European Championships| url = http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/280156.doping-bei-em.html| work = Neues Deutschland| language = de| access-date = 21 September 2014| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141129012039/http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/280156.doping-bei-em.html| archive-date = 29 November 2014| url-status = live |url-access=subscription}} Aged 35, Sanderson won at the 1991 European Cup over a field which included world-record holder Felke.{{cite news |last=Hubbard |first=Alan| date=30 June 1991 |title=Christie fast and furious |work=The Observer |location=London |page=36}}

Her fifth Olympic Games appearance, at the 1992 Summer Olympics, set a record for Olympic appearances by a British athlete.{{cite news |last=Powell |first=David |date=15 July 1992 |title=Sanderson rejoices in record – Athletics |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/0F91F5180CA3FB6F |via=NewsBank |access-date=14 July 2020 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029215530/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews%2F0F91F5180CA3FB6F |url-status=live }} Sanderson's best throw, {{T&Fcalc|63.58}}, was almost five metres less than the winning throw of {{T&Fcalc|68.34}} by Silke Renk and 3.28 metres less than bronze medalist Karen Forkel.{{cite news |title=Athletics at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games: Women's Javelin Throw Final Round |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1992/ATH/womens-javelin-throw-final-round.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417054243/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1992/ATH/womens-javelin-throw-final-round.html |publisher=Sports Reference LLC |archive-date=17 April 2020 }} She won gold at the 1992 World Cup with a throw of {{T&Fcalc|61.86}}, nearly three metres further than any other competitor.{{cite news |last=Rodda |first=John|date=28 September 1992|title=Britain second in world cup |work=The Guardian |location=London |page=14}}

=Rivalry with Fatima Whitbread=

File:Fatima Whitbread 2.jpg, whose rivalry with Sanderson was often written about in the British press|alt=A head-and-shoulders photo of a smiling Fatima Whitbread]]

Alan Hubbard wrote in a 1990 article in The Observer about Sanderson and Whitbread that "their hate-hate relationship has been one of the most enduring in British sport", lasting almost a decade. The same year, Matthew Engel wrote in The Guardian that "the Sanderson-Whitbread feud is, of course, one of the most splendid in sport", and Tom Lamont, in the same newspaper 29 years later, commented that "Whitbread and Sanderson were always uneasy rivals and the enmity that developed during their overlapping careers became as famous as their achievements, and seems to survive in their retirement". Hubbard cited Sanderson's perception that Whitbread received preferential treatment from the British Amateur Athletic Board. The Board's promotions officer, Andy Norman, who had a role in setting British athletes' fees, was a family friend of Whitbread and her mother and coach, Margaret.{{cite news |last=Mays |first=Ken|title=Whitbread & Sanderson fall out |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date =1 July 1985 |page=22 }}{{cite news |last=Hubbard |first=Alan|date=28 October 1990|title=Feuds corner: Sanderson v Whitbread |work=The Observer |location=London |page=23}} Margaret Whitbread was also the national coach for women's javelin in 1985, when her daughter participated in many international events while Sanderson only competed in one in the season ending in June 1985.{{cite news |last=Brasher |first=Christopher |title=Cram shunted aside by flying Scotsman |newspaper=The Observer |date=30 June 1985 |page=39}} In 1987, Sanderson threatened to boycott athletics events, for which she was being paid £1,000 each by British Athletics compared to Whitbread's £10,000. Sanderson agreed to a new deal at the beginning of June that year.{{cite news |author= |date=3 June 1987 |title=Athletics: Sanderson offered improved pay deal |work=The Times |location=London |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/0F90F07D6B4A5570 |via=NewsBank |access-date=14 July 2020 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029215530/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/user/login?destination=document-view%3Fp%3DAWNB%26docref%3Dnews%2F0F90F07D6B4A5570 |url-status=live }} Sanderson also objected to the endorsement that the Whitbreads had given to the Australian athlete Sue Howland, who competed at the 1990 Commonwealth Games after a two-year doping suspension, saying that she felt that they should have supported British athletes instead.{{cite news |last=Engel |first=Matthew|date=2 February 1990|title=Coe saves deposit as Sanderson loses her cool |work=The Guardian |location=London |page=20}}

During their respective careers, Sanderson won an Olympic and three Commonwealth golds, and Whitbread gained one world and one European title. In all, Sanderson placed higher in 27 of the 45 times that they faced each other in competition, although Whitbread had the better results of the pair from 1984 to 1987. In 2019, Sanderson told an interviewer from The Daily Telegraph that although she had initially been on friendly terms with Whitbread, before "the competition got to Whitbread's head" and they fell out, "The rivalry was one of the best things when you look at it now. It drove me to another level. It made me want to beat her every time. It's calmer now. I respect her and I hope she respects me."{{cite news |title=Tessa Sanderson on race, rivalry and modelling – Exclusive interview |first=Pippa |last=Field |date=16 August 2019 | newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |pages=6–7}}

= Return to competition =

After a four-year hiatus, Sanderson returned to track and field competition in 1996.{{cite news |last=Rowbottom |first=Mike |title=Christie denied farewell victory |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/christie-denied-farewell-victory-1328558.html |work=The Independent |date=13 July 1996 |access-date=25 October 2020 |archive-date=17 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917224436/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/christie-denied-farewell-victory-1328558.html |url-status=live }} She set masters (over-40) record throws of {{T&Fcalc|58.18}} and {{T&Fcalc|60.64}} with her first two throws in May, surpassing the previous record of {{T&Fcalc|51.84}}. After two further masters-record throws, Sanderson increased the record to {{T&Fcalc|64.06}} at the Securicor Games in July. At the 1996 Summer Olympics, she became the second track and field athlete (after Romanian discus thrower Lia Manoliu) to compete at six Olympics but did not qualify for the final.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/3358035.stm |title=Sanderson 'ecstatic' at honour |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204132105/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/3358035.stm |archive-date=4 December 2014 |website=BBC Sport |date=31 December 2003}} Sanderson also failed to qualify for the final at the 1997 World Championships, her last international appearance. Sanderson retired from competition in 1997; Whitbread had retired five years earlier.

During the 1970s, the use of performance-enhancing drugs was common in throwing events; Sanderson spoke against the practice,{{cite news |last=Temple |first=Cliff |title=Throwing Britain into limelight |work=The Times |location=London |date=30 September 1977 |page=13}} consistently maintaining an anti-doping stance.{{rp|159–165}} Her rival, two-time Olympic champion Fuchs, later admitted using steroids in the East German sports programme. The East German team did not compete in the 1984 Olympic Games as they participated in a wider boycott led by the Soviet Union.{{cite encyclopedia |author=((The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica)) |title=Ruth Fuchs |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ruth-Fuchs |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |date=10 December 2019 |access-date=26 October 2020 |archive-date=27 October 2020 |location=Chicago |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027071214/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ruth-Fuchs |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Wilson |first1=Jeremy |last2=Bloom |first2=Ben |title=Meet the British Olympians who fear they were cheated out of glory |work=Daily Telegraph |date=21 December 2021 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/olympics/2021/12/21/meet-british-olympians-fear-cheated-glory/ |access-date=3 May 2022}} Sanderson told reporters from The Daily Telegraph in 2021 that she felt during her career she had been "robbed" of medals by losing to competitors using drugs.

Outside competition

Sanderson has appeared as a guest on several television shows, including panel games A Question of Sport (in 1979), Bullseye (1984), Catchphrase Celebrity Special (1991), and Celebrity Wife Swap (2009).{{cite web |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba8896cae |title=Tessa Sanderson |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=13 July 2020 |archive-date=13 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713190346/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba8896cae |url-status=dead }}{{cite news| title=London |work=Sunday Mirror |location=London |date=21 October 1984 |page=26}} When Sky News was launched in 1989, Sanderson was a sports reporter for the channel,{{cite news |last=Brooks |first=Richard |date=5 February 1989|title=Sun light in the Sky for news channel |work=The Observer |location=London |page=84}} and she also co-hosted ITV's light-entertainment programme Surprise Surprise with Cilla Black.{{cite news |last=Miles |first=Tina |url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/holly-willoughby-nervous-stepping-hero-3350160 |title=Holly Willoughby on why she is nervous about stepping into her hero Cilla Black's shoes on Surprise Surprise |work=Liverpool Echo |date=15 March 2012 |access-date=13 July 2020 |archive-date=14 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914102900/http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/holly-willoughby-nervous-stepping-hero-3350160 |url-status=live }} In 2012, Sanderson was in "Billy's Olympic Nightmare", a BBC Red Button episode of soap opera EastEnders,{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01ky5s0 |title=Billy's Olympic Nightmare |publisher=BBC |access-date=13 July 2020 |archive-date=13 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713144821/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01ky5s0 |url-status=live }} and was a contestant on ITV's Dancing on Ice Goes Gold in the same year. At age 58, she began modelling for the Grey Model Agency.

Sanderson was vice-chair of Sport England from 1999 to 2005.{{cite web |author= |date=15 July 2016 |title=Midlands' Olympic legends: Tessa Sanderson |url=https://www.itv.com/news/central/2016-07-15/midlands-olympic-legends-tessa-sanderson/ |work=itv.com |access-date=14 July 2020 |archive-date=14 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714200114/https://www.itv.com/news/central/2016-07-15/midlands-olympic-legends-tessa-sanderson/ |url-status=live }} In 2006, she founded an academy in Newham which helped to find and train athletes to represent Britain in the 2012 Summer Olympics.{{cite web |last1=Banh |first1=Angela |last2=Cadger |first2=Rick |url=https://www.regtransfers.co.uk/celebrity-customers/tessa-sanderson |title=Tessa Sanderson |work=regtransfers.co.uk |publisher=Registration Transfers Ltd. |access-date=15 July 2020 |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029215533/https://www.regtransfers.co.uk/celebrity-customers/tessa-sanderson |url-status=live }} The Tessa Sanderson Foundation and Academy was established in September 2009 to encourage young people and people with disabilities to take up sport with mentoring and support.{{cite web |url=https://beta.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regid=1131781&subid=0 |title=The Tessa Sanderson Foundation And Academy |publisher=Government of the United Kingdom |access-date=15 July 2020 |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029215533/https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regid=1131781&subid=0 |url-status=live }}

From 2009 to 2013, Sanderson organised an annual 10 km race in Newham; part of the route was through Olympic Park. Although the 2013 event attracted 3,000 participants (representing 45 different nationalities), it was cancelled in 2014; Sanderson said that the Newham Council wanted to double its fee, and delayed meeting about the race.{{cite web |url=http://www.newhamclassic10k.com |title=Welcome to Newham Classic |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100307035754/http://www.newhamclassic10k.com/ |work=Newham Classic 10k |archive-date=7 March 2010}}{{cite news |last=Hubbard |first=Alan |date=9 February 2014 |title=Inside Lines: Olympian Tessa Sanderson angry at losing her running battle with Newham Council |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/inside-lines-olympian-tessa-sanderson-angry-at-losing-her-running-battle-with-newham-council-9117122.html |work=The Independent |location=London |access-date=14 July 2020 |archive-date=14 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714232721/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/inside-lines-olympian-tessa-sanderson-angry-at-losing-her-running-battle-with-newham-council-9117122.html |url-status=live }} Sanderson was appointed to the board of the Olympic Park Legacy Company, chaired by Baroness Ford, to "develop and manage" the park after the 2012 Olympics.{{cite web |url=http://www.legacycompany.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100120083759/http://www.legacycompany.co.uk/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=20 January 2010 |title=Olympic Park Legacy Company |publisher=Legacycompany.co.uk |date=29 July 2013 |access-date=18 August 2013 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.legacycompany.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123133901/http://www.legacycompany.co.uk/board-and-executive.aspx |url-status=usurped |archive-date=23 January 2010 |title=Olympic Park Legacy Company |publisher=Legacycompany.co.uk |year=2009 |access-date=14 July 2020 }}

Honours

File:Modern housing in 'Sanderson Park' - geograph.org.uk - 251416.jpg

Sanderson, the British Athletics Writers' Association Athlete of the Year in 1977, 1978 and 1984,{{cite web |title=British Athletics Writers' Association |url=http://www.sportsjournalists.co.uk/site/bawa/ |publisher=Sports Journalists' Association |access-date=24 October 2020 |archive-date=21 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921052918/https://www.sportsjournalists.co.uk/site/bawa/ |url-status=live }} was inducted into the England Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.{{cite web |title=2012 Hall of Fame Inductees |url=https://www.englandathletics.org/about-us/hall-of-fame/2012-hall-of-fame-inductees/ |publisher=England Athletics |access-date=24 October 2020 |archive-date=19 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519111058/https://www.englandathletics.org/about-us/hall-of-fame/2012-hall-of-fame-inductees/ |url-status=live }} Candidates for the Hall of Fame are selected by a panel of experts and then voted on by the public.{{cite web |title=Hall of Fame |url=https://www.englandathletics.org/about-us/hall-of-fame/ |publisher=England Athletics |access-date=24 October 2020 |archive-date=27 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027085603/https://www.englandathletics.org/about-us/hall-of-fame/ |url-status=live }} She was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1985 New Year Honours after her Olympic gold-medal performance, raised to Officer (OBE) in the 1998 New Year Honours for her charity work, and to Commander (CBE) in the 2004 New Year Honours for her service to Sport England.{{cite web |url=https://www.englandathletics.org/about-us/hall-of-fame/2012-hall-of-fame-inductees/ |title=2012 Hall of Fame Inductees |work=England Athletics |access-date=13 July 2020 |archive-date=19 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519111058/https://www.englandathletics.org/about-us/hall-of-fame/2012-hall-of-fame-inductees/ |url-status=live }}

Sanderson is an honorary graduate of the University of Wolverhampton,{{cite web | url=https://www.wlv.ac.uk/media/wlv/pdf/WLVDialogue_summer_2012.pdf#page=13 | title=WLV dialogue | format=PDF |year=2012 |publisher=University of Wolverhampton | access-date=22 May 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523224035/https://www.wlv.ac.uk/media/wlv/pdf/WLVDialogue_summer_2012.pdf#page=13 | archive-date=23 May 2015 | url-status=dead }} and was made an Honorary Fellow of London South Bank University in 2004.{{cite web |url=https://libguides.lsbu.ac.uk/llrblog/generalblog/Black-History-Month-Honorary-Graduates |title=Black History Month: Honorary Graduates |author=Ruth M |date=22 October 2019 |work=London South Bank University |access-date=14 July 2020 |archive-date=15 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715164036/https://libguides.lsbu.ac.uk/llrblog/generalblog/Black-History-Month-Honorary-Graduates |url-status=live }} That year, she was one of 100 Great Black Britons in a poll taken after the BBC's 100 Greatest Britons failed to include any Black Britons.{{cite web |title=100 Great Black Britons |url=https://100greatblackbritons.com/results.htm |publisher=Every Generation Media and Foundation |access-date=24 October 2020 |archive-date=27 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027005250/https://100greatblackbritons.com/results.htm |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Bloomfield |first=Steve |title=The top 10 black Britons (but one may not be) |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-top-10-black-britons-but-one-may-not-be-68171.html |work=The Independent |date=8 February 2004 |access-date=24 October 2020 |archive-date=7 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607155117/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-top-10-black-britons-but-one-may-not-be-68171.html |url-status=live }} Later that year, Sanderson received a Sportswomen of the Year Lifetime Achievement award from The Sunday Times.{{cite news | last=Lewis |first=Richard |date=13 June 1996|title=Fame game that began as a noble form of address |work=The Times |location=London |page=5}} A housing estate in Wednesfield near where she began learning the javelin throw was named Sanderson Park after her.{{cite news | last1=Young |first1=Robin |date=18 March 1994|title=Pupils right on target |work=Sandwell Evening Mail |page=56}} Two roads are named after her: Tessa Sanderson Place is near Wandsworth Road in South London,{{cite news | last1=Young |first1=Robin | last2=Hepburn |first2=Kirstie |date=28 November 2004|title=Tessa's lifetime of success – Sportswomen of the Year awards |work=The Sunday Times |location=London |page=Sport 23}} and Tessa Sanderson Way is in Greenford, West London.{{cite book |last=Bromley |first=Tom |title=Wired for Sound: Now That's What I Call An Eighties Music Childhood |chapter=Track 11: Do they know it's Christmas? |year=2012 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |location=London |isbn=9781849833936 }}

Personal life

Sanderson has spoken about the discrimination she has experienced as a black woman. She told The Guardian in 1990 that she had faced racial discrimination (although not in her sporting career), and she felt that sexism was the reason women athletes were not adequately paid.{{cite news |last=Hubbard |first=Alan |title=Tigress still on the prowl |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=26 August 1990 |page=22}} Sanderson experienced racist language and behaviour in school (including being spat on),{{cite news |last=Hubbard |first=Alan |title=Tessa Sanderson: 'I was spat on and called golliwog' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/tessa-sanderson-i-was-spat-on-and-called-golliwog-1820881.html |work=The Independent |date=15 November 2009 |access-date=26 October 2020 |archive-date=1 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201042130/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/tessa-sanderson-i-was-spat-on-and-called-golliwog-1820881.html |url-status=live }} and has spoken about receiving a racist letter saying that she was not truly British after her 1984 Olympic gold medal.{{cite web |last=Clarke |first=Roger |title=Tessa Sanderson: Olympic champion still determined to break down barriers |url=https://www.skysports.com/more-sports/athletics/news/29175/12090605/tessa-sanderson-olympic-champion-still-determined-to-break-down-barriers |work=Sky Sports |date=6 October 2020 |access-date=26 October 2020 |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029215532/https://www.skysports.com/more-sports/athletics/news/29175/12090605/tessa-sanderson-olympic-champion-still-determined-to-break-down-barriers |url-status=live }} She told Sky Sports in October 2020, "Black athletes didn't have the voice they have now, so I just had to fight my own battles", and expressed disappointment at the continuing lack of Black, Asian and minority representation in sports governing bodies.

Tessa: My Life in Athletics, Sanderson's autobiography, was published in 1986.{{cite book|author=Richard William Cox|title=British Sport: Biographical studies of British sportsmen, sportswomen, and animals|year=2003|publisher=Frank Cass |location=London|isbn=9780714652528|page=106}} In 1990, she sued several newspapers and was awarded £30,000 in damages by the High Court of Justice for claims that she had "stolen another woman's husband". Sanderson said that her affair with the man, Derrick Evans (a fitness instructor known as Mr Motivator) began after his marriage had broken up. Sanderson had starred in the fitness videos Cardiofunk (1990) and Body Blitz (c. 1992) with Evans.{{cite news |title=Fighting the flab |work=Kensington Post |location=London |date=4 January 1990 |page=18 }}{{cite web |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/people/1161426 |title=Video Gems Firm |work=Trove |publisher=National Library of Australia |access-date=15 July 2020 |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029215532/https://trove.nla.gov.au/people/1161426 |url-status=live }}

On 3 May 2010, Sanderson married former judo Olympian Densign White at St Paul's Cathedral in London. Her bridesmaids were fellow Olympic teammates Sharron Davies, Kelly Holmes and Christine Ohuruogu.{{cite news |author= |title=Sharron's bridesmaid role |work=Gloucestershire Echo |location=Cheltenham |date=3 June 2010}} She had three unsuccessful in vitro fertilisation treatments by the age of 50. Sanderson and White began fostering four-month-old twins Cassius and Ruby Mae in 2013 and adopted them the following year, when Sanderson was 58.{{cite news |last=Andrews |first=Mark |title=Tessa Sanderson's joy at becoming an adoptive mother at 58 |url=https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/features/2019/10/18/tessas-joy-at-becoming-an-adoptive-mother-at-58/ |work=Shropshire Star |date=19 October 2019 |access-date=26 October 2020 |archive-date=28 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028184945/https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/features/2019/10/18/tessas-joy-at-becoming-an-adoptive-mother-at-58/ |url-status=live }} Her nephew, Dion Sanderson, is a footballer who debuted with Wolverhampton Wanderers in October 2019.{{cite news |last=Swarbrick |first=Rosie |date=4 November 2019 |url=https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/football/wolverhampton-wanderers-fc/2019/11/04/tessa-so-proud-to-see-dion-sanderson-flying-family-flag-with-wolves/ |title=Olympian Tessa Sanderson so proud to see nephew Dion Sanderson flying the family flag with Wolves |work=Express & Star |location=Wolverhampton |access-date=13 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105185525/https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/football/wolverhampton-wanderers-fc/2019/11/04/tessa-so-proud-to-see-dion-sanderson-flying-family-flag-with-wolves/ |archive-date=5 November 2019 |url-status=live }}

{{anchor|Career Statistics}}Career statistics

=Personal bests=

class=wikitable style=text-align:center

|+Personal best performances by Tessa Sanderson

! scope="col" |Event

! scope="col" |Best

! scope="col" |Date

! scope="col" |Notes

! scope="col" |{{abbr|Ref.|References}}

Javelin throw

| 73.58 m

| 26 June 1983

| in Edinburgh

|{{cite web |url=https://www.worldathletics.org/athletes/great-britain-ni/tessa-sanderson-14276273 |title=Theresa Sanderson |author= |work=World Athletics |access-date=13 July 2020 |archive-date=15 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715220939/https://www.worldathletics.org/athletes/great-britain-ni/tessa-sanderson-14276273 |url-status=live }}

200 m

| 24.89 s

| July 1981

| Brussels (European Cup semi-final)

400 m

| 57.3 s

| 1972

800 m

| 2:26.20

| July 1981

| Brussels (European Cup semi-final)

100 m hurdles

| 13.46 s

| 25 July 1981

| at Crystal Palace

|{{cite news |title=Shirley wins third title |work=Newcastle Evening Chronicle |date=25 July 1981 |page=32}}

400 m hurdles

| 60.46 s

| 11 June 1977

| Cwmbran Stadium (1977 UK Athletics Championships)

|{{cite web |title=UK Championships |url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/uk.htm |work=GBR Athletics |access-date=3 October 2021 |archive-date=2 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002171009/http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/uk.htm |url-status=live }}

High jump

| 1.69 m

| 13 January 1973

| at the Cosford Games

|{{rp|177}}

Long jump

| 5.97 m

| July 1981

| Brussels (European Cup semi-final)

Shot put

| 13.27 m

| 1981

Heptathlon

| 6125 pts

| July 1981

| Brussels (European Cup semi-final)

|{{cite web |last=Smythe |first=Steve |title=Tessa Sanderson's top 10 throws |url=https://athleticsweekly.com/featured/tessa-sandersons-top-10-throws-1039942131/ |work=Athletics Weekly |date=14 March 2021 |access-date=3 October 2021 |archive-date=3 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003010000/https://athleticsweekly.com/featured/tessa-sandersons-top-10-throws-1039942131/ |url-status=live }}

60 m hurdles (indoors)

| 8.5 s

| 26 February 1977

| at Cosford

|{{rp|170}}

Pentathlon (indoors)

| 3623 pts

| 1973

={{anchor|Seasonal bests}}Seasonal bests=

The table below shows Sanderson's best javelin performance per season.{{rp|181}}{{cite web |title=Track and Field Statistics: Tessa Sanderson |url=http://trackfield.brinkster.net/Profile.asp?ID=2369&Gender=W&Page=Results.asp&EventCode=WF8 |work=Track and Field Statistics |access-date=25 October 2020 |archive-date=27 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027002512/http://trackfield.brinkster.net/Profile.asp?ID=2369&Gender=W&Page=Results.asp&EventCode=WF8 |url-status=live }}

{{Graph:Chart

| width = 900

| height = 200

| type = rect

| xAxisTitle = Year

| yAxisTitle = Metres

| yAxisMin = 0

| showValues = true

| showSymbols=true

| x = 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996

| y = 31.86, 42.02, 43.06, 51.34, 55.04, 54.40, 57.20, 67.20, 64.00, 65.34, 69.70, 68.86, 66.00, 73.58, 69.56, 71.18, 69.80, 67.86, 71.7, 0, 65.71, 65.18, 64.88, 0, 0, 0, 64.06

}}

==Season rankings==

Sanderson's position in the rankings of women's javelin throw athletes, based on their longest throw in the year. Only positions in the top 25 are shown.

{{Graph:Chart

| width = 900

| height = 250

| type = line

| xAxisTitle = Year

| xAxisMin = 1970

| yAxisTitle = Ranking

| yAxisMax = 2

| yAxisMin = 22

| showValues = true

| showSymbols=true

| xGrid=

| yGrid=

| x = 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1996

| y = 3, 5, 5, 3, 2, 11, 2, 7, 4, 7, 9, 3, 12, 12, 11, 21

}}

=International competitions=

The table shows Sanderson's performances representing Great Britain and England in international competitions.

class="wikitable sortable" style=text-align:center

|+Tessa Sanderson's javelin throw record

! scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | Competition

! scope="col" | Venue

! scope="col" | Position

! scope="col" | Distance

! scope="col" | {{abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}}

1973

|European Junior Championships

|Duisburg, West Germany

|12th

|39.18 m

|{{cite web |title=Theresa Sanderson |url=https://www.european-athletics.com/historical-data/athletes/great-britain-ni/theresa-sanderson-014276273 |publisher=European Athletics |access-date=30 April 2022 |archive-date=30 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430165746/https://www.european-athletics.com/historical-data/athletes/great-britain-ni/theresa-sanderson-014276273 |url-status=live }}

rowspan=2|1974

|British Commonwealth Games

|Christchurch, New Zealand

|5th

|48.54 m

| {{cite web |title=Theresa Ione Sanderson |url=https://thecgf.com/results/athletes/41311 |website=The Commonwealth Games Federation |access-date=30 April 2022 |archive-date=10 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110142855/https://thecgf.com/results/athletes/41311 |url-status=live }}

European Championships

|Rome, Italy

|13th (q){{efn|name="QR"|Position in qualifying round}}

|53.28 m

1976

|Olympic Games

|Montreal, Canada

|10th

|57.18 m

rowspan=2|1977

|European Cup

| Helsinki, Finland

| style="background:silver;"| 2nd

|62.36 m

|{{cite web |title=European Cup A final and Super League (women) |url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/epw.htm |website=GBRAthletics |publisher=Athletics Weekly |year=2007 |access-date=30 April 2022 |archive-date=2 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802153206/http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/epw.htm |url-status=live }}

World Cup{{efn|name="RE"|representing Europe}}

|Düsseldorf, West Germany

|bgcolor="cc9966"| 3rd

|60.30 m

|{{cite web |title=1st IAAF/VTB Bank Intercontinental Cup: IAAF Statistics Handbook |year=2010 |url=http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/competitions/competition/05/79/40/20100809103225_httppostedfile_split2010_21818.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026100106/http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/competitions/competition/05/79/40/20100809103225_httppostedfile_split2010_21818.pdf |publisher=IAAF |archive-date=26 October 2012 }}{{rp|81}}

rowspan=2|1978

|Commonwealth Games

|Edmonton, Canada

| style="background:gold;"| 1st

|61.34 m

European Championships

|Prague, Czechoslovakia

| style="background:silver;"| 2nd

|62.40 m

1979

|European Cup

|Turin, Italy

|bgcolor="cc9966"| 3rd

|62.38 m

1980

|Olympic Games

|Moscow, Soviet Union

|19th (q){{efn|name="QR"|Position in qualifying round}}

|48.76 m

|{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1980/ATH/womens-javelin-throw.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417174929/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1980/ATH/womens-javelin-throw.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 April 2020 |title=Athletics at the 1980 Moscow Summer Games: Women's Javelin Throw |access-date=30 April 2022 |website=sports-reference.com}}

rowspan=2|1981

|Pacific Conference Games

|Christchurch, New Zealand

| style="background:gold;"| 1st

|61.56 m

|{{cite web |title=Pacific Conference Games |url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/pcg.htm |website=GBRAthletics |publisher=Athletics Weekly |year=2005 |access-date=30 April 2022 |archive-date=5 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005121207/http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/pcg.htm |url-status=live }}

European Cup

|Zagreb, Yugoslavia

| style="background:silver;"| 2nd

|65.94 m

1983

|World Championships

|Helsinki, Finland

|4th

|64.76 m

1984

|Olympic Games

|Los Angeles, United States

| style="background:gold;"| 1st

|69.56 m

1986

|Commonwealth Games

|Edinburgh, United Kingdom

| style="background:gold;"| 1st

|69.80 m

1987

|World Championships

|Rome, Italy

|4th

|67.54 m

|{{cite web |title=Theresa Sanderson (1987) |url=https://www.european-athletics.com/historical-data/athletes/great-britain-ni/theresa-sanderson-014276273?selectedTable=resultsByYear&resultsByYear=1987 |publisher=European Athletics |access-date=30 April 2022 |archive-date=30 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430165751/https://www.european-athletics.com/historical-data/athletes/great-britain-ni/theresa-sanderson-014276273?selectedTable=resultsByYear&resultsByYear=1987 |url-status=live }}

1988

|Olympic Games

|Seoul, South Korea

|21st (q){{efn|name="QR"|Position in qualifying round}}

|56.70 m

|{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1988/ATH/womens-javelin-throw.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417174928/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1988/ATH/womens-javelin-throw.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 April 2020 |title=Athletics at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games: Women's Javelin Throw |access-date=30 April 2022 |website=sports-reference.com}}

1989

|European Cup

|Gateshead, United Kingdom

|bgcolor="cc9966"| 3rd

|59.72 m

rowspan=2|1990

|Commonwealth Games

|Auckland, New Zealand

| style="background:gold;"| 1st

|65.72 m

European Championships

|Split, Yugoslavia

|12th

|57.56 m

|{{cite web |title=Theresa Sanderson (1990) |url=https://www.european-athletics.com/historical-data/athletes/great-britain-ni/theresa-sanderson-014276273?selectedTable=resultsByYear&resultsByYear=1990 |publisher=European Athletics |access-date=30 April 2022 |archive-date=30 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430165750/https://www.european-athletics.com/historical-data/athletes/great-britain-ni/theresa-sanderson-014276273?selectedTable=resultsByYear&resultsByYear=1990 |url-status=live }}

1991

|European Cup

|Frankfurt, Germany

| style="background:gold;"| 1st

|65.18 m

rowspan=2|1992

|Olympic Games

|Barcelona, Spain

|4th

|63.58 m

|{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1992/ATH/womens-javelin-throw.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417174921/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1992/ATH/womens-javelin-throw.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 April 2020 |title=Athletics at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games: Women's Javelin Throw |access-date=30 April 2022 |website=sports-reference.com}}

World Cup{{efn|name="RE"}}

|Havana, Cuba

|bgcolor="gold"| 1st

|61.86 m

|{{rp|82}}

rowspan=2|1996

|European Cup

|Madrid, Spain

|4th

|58.18 m

|{{cite web |title=Theresa Sanderson (1996) |url=https://www.european-athletics.com/historical-data/athletes/great-britain-ni/theresa-sanderson-014276273?selectedTable=resultsByYear&resultsByYear=1996 |publisher=European Athletics |access-date=30 April 2022 |archive-date=30 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430165753/https://www.european-athletics.com/historical-data/athletes/great-britain-ni/theresa-sanderson-014276273?selectedTable=resultsByYear&resultsByYear=1996 |url-status=live }}

Olympic Games

|Atlanta, United States

|14th (q){{efn|name="QR"|Position in qualifying round}}

|58.86 m

|{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1996/ATH/womens-javelin-throw.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417174924/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1996/ATH/womens-javelin-throw.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 April 2020 |title=Athletics at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games: Women's Javelin Throw |access-date=30 April 2022 |website=sports-reference.com}}

1997

|World Championships

|Athens, Greece

|18th (q){{efn|name="QR"|Position in qualifying round}}

|57.84 m

|{{cite web |title=World Athletics Chmpionships, Athina (Olympic Stadium), 01 Aug – 10 Aug 1997. Javelin Throw Women (Qualification) |url=https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/6th-iaaf-world-championships-in-athletics-6913256/results/women/javelin-throw/qualification/summary |work=World Athletics |access-date=30 April 2022 |archive-date=30 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430165748/https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/6th-iaaf-world-championships-in-athletics-6913256/results/women/javelin-throw/qualification/summary |url-status=live }}

"(q)" denotes position in qualifying round.

={{anchor|National titles}}National titles=

AAA Junior Championships (under 17): 1971 and 1972{{cite web |title=AAA Junior Championships (women) |url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/waaaj.htm |work=Athletics Weekly|access-date=28 October 2020 |archive-date=30 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030222908/http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/waaaj.htm |url-status=live }}
English Schools Champion: 1972 (intermediate) and 1973 (senior){{cite web |title=English Schools Championship (girls) |url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/esg.htm |work=Athletics Weekly|access-date=28 October 2020 |archive-date=17 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917181536/http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/esg.htm |url-status=live }}
British Schools International match: 1973{{cite web |title=British Schools International match |url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/bs.htm |work=Athletics Weekly|access-date=28 October 2020 |archive-date=29 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629172947/http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/bs.htm |url-status=live }}
English Commonwealth Games trials: 1973 and 1978
British Olympic Games trials: 1976 and 1984{{cite web |title=Outdoor: British Olympic Games trials |url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/outdoor.htm |work=Athletics Weekly|access-date=28 October 2020 |archive-date=15 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115124657/http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/outdoor.htm |url-status=live }}
10 times AAA National Champion: 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1996
3 times UK National Champion: 1977, 1978, 1997

={{anchor|Midland Counties Championships titles}}Midland Counties Championships=

These were competitions for women based in the English Midlands counties of Avon, Gloucestershire, Hereford and Worcester, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Salop, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and West Midlands.{{cite book |last=Temple |first=Cliff |title=Cross country and Road Running |publisher=Stanley Paul |location=London |year=1980 |page=204 |isbn=9780091415211}}{{efn|The criteria for eligibility for county championships were "bring born in the county, having lived continuously in the county for nine months before the competition date, or having nine months of service in HM [Armed] Forces stationed within the county".}}

Javelin throw: 1974, 1975, 1977
Pentathlon: 1976
400 m hurdles: 1977{{cite web |title=Midland Counties Championships |url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/waaaj.htm |work=Athletics Weekly|access-date=28 October 2020 |archive-date=30 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030222908/http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/waaaj.htm |url-status=live }}

Notes

References

External links

[http://www.tessa.co.uk Official website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723105619/http://www.tessa.co.uk/ |date=23 July 2019 }}
[http://www.tsfa.co.uk The Tessa Sanderson Foundation and Academy]
[http://trackfield.brinkster.net/Profile.asp?ID=2369&Gender=W&Page=Results.asp&EventCode=WF8 Tessa Sanderson] Track and Field Statistics
{{SR/Olympics profile|sa/tessa-sanderson-1}}