Jane Tomlinson

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Jane Tomlinson
Born 21 February 1964(1964-02-21)
Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England
Died 3 September 2007 (aged 43)
Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
Known for Charity campaigner
Spouse Mike Tomlinson

Jane Emily Tomlinson, CBE (née Goward; 21 February 1964 – 3 September 2007) was an amateur English athlete who became well known in the United Kingdom for raising £1.5 million for charity by completing a series of athletic challenges, despite suffering from terminal cancer.[1]

Having had treatment for breast cancer in 1991, aged 26, the disease returned in 2000 throughout her body.[2] During the next six years, Tomlinson completed the London Marathon three times, the London Triathlon twice, the New York Marathon once and cycled across Europe, the United States and Africa.[2] Jane Tomlinson died in 2007, aged 43.

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[edit] Early life

Jane Emily Goward was born in Wakefield in Yorkshire in 1964, the sixth of ten children of a dentist.[2][3] When she was aged 11, the family emigrated to Australia but returned after three years.[2] In 1990, Tomlinson applied to study Mathematics at the University of Leeds. However, when she found a lump in her breast and had a lumpectomy, she enrolled instead at Leeds General Infirmary and trained as a radiographer.[2] By this time, she had married Mike Tomlinson and had two daughters, Suzanne and Rebecca.[4] They later had a son, Steven.[5][2] Qualifying in 1993, Tomlinson later studied to postgraduate level and became a paediatric radiographer.[2] Three years after having a lumpectomy the cancer returned and she had a second mastectomy, and two rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.[2] In 2000, Jane Tomlinson was told that the cancer had spread to her bones, lungs and was given about 12 months to live.[3][2]

[edit] Charity fundraising

Having been told she had terminal cancer in 2000, Tomlinson decided to embark on a series of marathons and athletic challenges to raise money for charity. She devised a training regime and in May 2001 took part in her first challenge, the 5km Race for Life[2]. In December 2001, she took part in the Leeds Abbey Dash.[3] In April 2002, she ran the London Marathon for the first time and later the New York Marathon.[2] In July that year, Jane Tomlinson presented the Jubilee baton to The Queen in Leeds, in August she did the London Triathlon and in October the Great North Run.[3]

Tomlinson completed the Ironman Triathlon, the only person with incurable cancer ever to do so.[6] She also completed two half Ironmans.[6] In 2002 at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards, she was given the Helen Rollason Award and was made a MBE in 2003.[6][7] Also in 2003, from March to April, she cycled with her brother Luke Goward from John o' Groats to Land's End, a distance of 1060 miles.[6][2] The following year she and her brother used a tandem to cycle 2000 miles across Europe from Rome to Leeds, and climbed Mont Ventoux on the journey.[3][2]

Jane Tomlinson's public profile led to receiving at one point over 2500 letters from the public a week.[2] However, some tabloid newspapers suggested that her cancer was not terminal, a claim that was proved to be untrue.[2] She also received abusive telephone calls.[8] In 2005, she won a Pride of Britain award.[3]

[edit] Last years

In July and August 2006, Tomlinson spent nine weeks cycling 4200 miles across the United States, raising £250,000.[6][3] This was her final athletic challenge.[9]

Having published The Luxury of Time in 2005, she released the second volume of her memoirs You Can't Take It With You in 2006.[2] In January 2007, Mike and Jane Tomlinson launched Jane Tomlinson's Run For All, a 10km charity run that took place in June that year.[10] Having had four courses of chemotherapy, she developed chronic heart disease.[6] Having been elevated to a CBE in June 2007, Jane Tomlinson died in St Gemma's Hospice, Leeds, West Yorkshire less than three months later on 3 September.[6][5] Her Requiem Mass, which was conducted by the Bishop of Leeds Arthur Roche, was held at the Roman Catholic Leeds Cathedral on 14 September 2007.[4] Later that day she was cremated in a private family ceremony.[11] On 15 November 2007 Tomlinson's ten-year-old son, Steven, collected her CBE from The Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace.[12]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Obituary: Jane Tomlinson", BBC, 4 September 2007. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Obituary - Jane Tomlinson", The Daily Telegraph, 6 September 2007. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Obituary - Jane Tomlinson", The Times, 5 September 2007. 
  4. ^ a b "Husband speaks of Jane heartbreak", BBC, 14 September 2007. 
  5. ^ a b "Jane Tomlinson loses cancer fight", BBC, 4 September 2007. 
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "Tomlinson honoured with CBE", BBC, 15 June 2007. 
  7. ^ "Jane's fighting spirit", BBC, 8 December 2002. 
  8. ^ "'Cruel Abuse' Of Cancer Sufferer", Sky News, 15 May 2007. 
  9. ^ "Jane ends fund-raising on a high", BBC, 1 September 2006. 
  10. ^ "Thousands join in Tomlinson run", BBC, 24 June 2007. 
  11. ^ Nugent, Helen. "1,000 gather to remember fundraiser Jane", The Times, 15 September 2007. 
  12. ^ "Tomlinson honour accepted by son", BBC, 15 November 2007. 

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