Robert Champion (born 4 June 1948) is an English former jump jockey, who won the

1981 Grand National The 1981 Grand National (officially known as '' The Sun'' Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 135th renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 4 April 1981. It is rem ...

on Aldaniti. His triumph, while recovering from cancer, was made into the 1984 film ''

Champions A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

'', with

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...

portraying Champion. The film is based on Champion's book ''Champion's Story'', which he wrote with close friend, racing journalist and broadcaster Jonathan Powell.

Biography

Champion was born in Sussex, but very soon after his birth the family moved to Guisborough in the North Riding of Yorkshire. At the height of his career as a jockey, he was diagnosed with

testicular cancer Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle, or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility. Risk factors include an ...

in July 1979. He was treated with an

orchidectomy Orchiectomy (also named orchidectomy, and sometimes shortened as orchi or orchie) is a surgical procedure in which one or both testicles are removed. The surgery is performed as treatment for testicular cancer, as part of surgery for transgend ...

and with the chemotherapeutic drugs

bleomycin -13- (1''H''-imidazol-5-yl)methyl9-hydroxy-5- 1''R'')-1-hydroxyethyl8,10-dimethyl-4,7,12,15-tetraoxo-3,6,11,14-tetraazapentadec-1-yl}-2,4'-bi-1,3-thiazol-4-yl)carbonyl]amino}propyl)(dimethyl)sulfonium , chemical_formula = , C=55 , H=84 , N=1 ...

vinblastine Vinblastine (VBL), sold under the brand name Velban among others, is a chemotherapy medication, typically used with other medications, to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes Hodgkin's lymphoma, non-small cell lung cancer, bladder ca ...

and

cisplatin Cisplatin is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of cancers. These include testicular cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer, bladder cancer, head and neck cancer, esophageal cancer, lung cancer, mesothelioma, ...

, and also had an exploratory operation to identify cancer in his

lymph nodes A lymph node, or lymph gland, is a kidney-shaped organ of the lymphatic system and the adaptive immune system. A large number of lymph nodes are linked throughout the body by the lymphatic vessels. They are major sites of lymphocytes that inclu ...

. His victory on Aldaniti was viewed by many as a great triumph, following his adversity. Their victory in the Grand National earned them that year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award, and was chosen by

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

viewers in 2002 as one of the

100 Greatest Sporting Moments ''100 Greatest'' is a long-running TV strand on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom that has been broadcasting from 11 September 1999 to 10 October 2015, originating in Tyne Tees Television’s Factual Features department under Executive Producer Ma ...

. Other major races that Champion won during his career include the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup and the Whitbread Trial Chase. He was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the 1982 Birthday Honours. In 1983 he formed the Bob Champion Cancer Trust, which has raised millions of pounds for cancer research. He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 1981, when he was surprised, on his wedding day, by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ ...

. Champion became a trainer based in Newmarket. The first horse he bought as such was "Just Martin" for owner Frank Pullen, who also built his yard. He retired from training horses in 1999. On 22 December 2011, Champion received the

BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award is an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. The award is given “for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity”, and BB ...

award as part of the 2011

BBC Sports Personality of the Year The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an awards ceremony that takes place annually in December. Devised by Paul Fox in 1954, it originally consisted of just one, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Several new awards have been ...

competition. He was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to prostate and testicular cancer research. The Bob Champion Research and Education Building which is part of the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

campus is named after him.

Works

*Bob Champion and Jonathan Powell, ''Champion's Story: A Great Human Triumph'', Victor Gollancs Ltd. (1981). *Bob Champion, ''I'm Champion, Call Me Bob'', FCM Publishing, Lincoln, (2018).

References

External links

The Bob Champion Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Champion, Bob 1948 births Living people English jockeys People from Guisborough Sportspeople from Yorkshire Commanders of the Order of the British Empire