Britain’s most-decorated female Olympian has added another title despite retiring from sport: she will now be able to call herself Dame Katherine Grainger.
But the parents who brought her to the north-east as a youngster said they doubted their “down-to-earth” daughter would use the formal title.
Ms Grainger narrowly missed out on another gold medal in Rio, coming second in the double sculls to add to her significant haul of medals.
She now has five – gold from London 2012 and silvers from every games since 2000 in Sydney – and was elected the Olympians’ Olympian by teammates at the 2016 Team GB ball.
And while she was born in Glasgow, her move as a child to Netherley in Aberdeenshire has been enough for the north-east to happily claim her as one of their own and celebrate her triumphs.
That now includes being made a dame for services to sport and charity.
Mother Liz Grainger said: “She is very down to earth and modest, so I doubt she will want to be called Dame Katherine or whatever.
She added: “She has battled down barriers for most of her career, which I think is what is being acknowledged now.”
The family plans to celebrate with “lots and lots of champagne” when the rower returns to Scotland.
Ms Grainger said she hoped the latest award will allow her to retain some involvement in the sport which has brought her great success and also expand on charity work, both near her Maidenhead home and also abroad with International Inspiration.
She said: “What is lovely when you hear the titles and the names of the New Year Honours List, if anything it makes you feel you have to step up again. It is something to live up to – it is almost like a new standard.
“Although I have done a lot in my own sport and achieved a lot, hopefully been an inspiration in that way, the road doesn’t end there.
“It is almost like a new road opens up and there are still opportunities to inspire and change for good, that is what the challenge is next and that is really exciting.”
