'Lot's of ways' to mark Welsh sportswomen - Grey-Thompson

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson says the lack of statues celebrating Welsh sportswomen does pose questions of equal recognition.

Former world marathon record holder Steve Jones has become the 18th sportsman to be immortalised in stone, bronze or steel, in Wales.

Chair of the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame, Phil Davies said it was the "time to start the conversation about adding some of our outstanding women to the list."

Baroness Grey-Thompson, the 11-time Paralympic gold medallist said: "The silhouette they did of Steve Jones last week was amazing, it looks absolutely incredible - he broke the marathon world record, which is unbelievable.

"But it does throw in a wider sort of recognition of women's sport, where it's at and what more do we need to do to get more equal recognition?"

Baroness Grey-Thompson said a combination of factors had resulted in the lack of Welsh sportswomen being celebrated

"I guess it's like who's paying for the statue, you know, because none of these things are terribly cheap," she told the BBC Radio Wales Phone-In.

"If you look at political statues, quite often they're paid for by the men themselves.

"I don't know whether the world has moved on from having a statue.

"I remember going to St David's Centre (in Cardiff) when I was a kid and seeing the statue of Gareth Edwards, and that was amazing.

"But it's interesting about how young people connect to these things and I'm not sure they're necessarily connecting the same way as maybe my generation did."

Baroness Grey-Thompson said Welsh sportswomen such as Elinor Barker, Jade Jones and Lauren Price had been recognised for their success in other ways.

"I have to say the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame, they've been amazing all through of recognising sportswomen, so that's good," Baroness Grey-Thompson added.

"It's just whether we do need this sort of very physical manifestation of something in the way that we used to have. I don't know the answer.

"I was inducted to the Hall of Fame the same year as Steve Jones.

"And that to me was huge, because it was being recognised by sort of fellow people in sport.

"I'm not sure I would want a statue of myself, to be honest. But I think there's lots of ways that we can recognise.

"I think we're pretty good at recognising people who've excelled in sport in Wales.

"I'd probably rather the money go into helping another generation of young people."

Uefa vice-president and former Wales international footballer Laura McAllister said the lack of statutes "demonstrates how women's sport has been seen over the years."

"Things are starting to change thankfully with the success of not just our football team in the Euros this summer but the growth of women's rugby and all sports really," she added.

"But over time, of course, the decisions about where and how a statue should be commissioned has largely been held by men who run sports.

"So we're starting to see that change, of course, with more and more women becoming involved."

Professor McAllister, has been on the executive committee of Uefa, European football's governing body, since 2023.

She spoke of the commissioning of a statue in Cardiff to Betty Campbell, Wales' first black head teacher, the first outdoor monument to a non-fictional woman in the country.

"You could probably apply what we're seeing in sport to other sectors as well," McAllister added.

"Many schoolchildren visit the Betty Campbell statue and are in awe of the achievements that she managed as a head teacher.

"But we need to do the same in sport now as well, because traditionally, statues are commissioned after somebody dies.

"But we don't have one of even a historic figure like [swimmer] Irene Steer, who was the first woman from Wales to win a gold medal in the Olympics.

"I know there's a purple plaque being unveiled later this week in Roath Park, where she used to train, but no statue.

"Can you imagine it took 96 years from 1912 when Irene Stier won her gold until 2008 when Nicole Cook won hers? 96 years.

"We should be commemorating those successes because they really are monumental."