Fatima Whitbread Parents: Meet Margaret Whitbread

Fatima Whitbread, the retired British javelin thrower, is a well-known name in the world of athletics. Fatima was adopted by athletics coach Margaret Whitbread

Fatima Vedad was born in Stoke Newington, London, on March 3, 1961, to a Turkish Cypriot mother and a Greek Cypriot father. She grew up in a series of orphanages, occasionally in the care of her abusive biological mother.

Margaret Whitbread and her family adopted Fatima when she was 14. She grew up in Chadwell St Mary, Essex, and attended the Torells School in nearby Greys.

Fatima had a successful sporting career, winning numerous medals. Throughout her career, she has won ten top-three medals.

She won gold at the European Junior Championships in 1979, shortly before finishing third at the Commonwealth Games in 1982.

Fatima finished second in the 1983 World Championships, the year before the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, where she won a bronze medal.

Fatima has appeared on a number of television shows in addition to her sporting career. She has appeared as a guest on A Question of Sport and The Wright Stuff.