A FORMER Bolton paralympian has had a whirlwind few weeks after meeting both the Queen and ex-world champion boxer Mike Tyson.

Tony Griffin, who has cerebral palsy, won 38 international medals in an athletic career that took him all over the world during the 1980s however his latest triumph has taken him all the way down to Buckingham Palace.

After being invited to the Queen’s Royal Garden Party, Mr Griffin travelled to London with his wife Carla and their two children, Andrew and Samantha.

Despite his massive sporting achievements, Mr Griffin was more than star struck at the event. He said: “It’s an experience I’ll never forget, the Queen walked right past me — she met a few people and was also having tea with guests.”

To top off a dream month for the 50-year-old, he then met legendary boxer Mike Tyson at the Reebok Stadium’s De Vere Whites Hotel in Bolton. Mr Griffin managed to get a personal photograph with Tyson and he was full of praise for the former boxer: “He is one of the greatest heavyweight boxers to have ever walked on this planet — in his prime he was awesome,” he said.

Mr Griffin won accolades across continents with his most successful paralympic games coming in the 1984 New York games where he won two gold medals and broke two world records, one of which still stands to this day.

Along with his invitation to the garden party, Mr Griffin’s achievements have more locally been recognised with his inclusion on Bolton’s Spirit of Sport statue alongside hundreds of other sporting figures from the Bolton community.