HORSE racing legend Bob Champion will be among those awarded an honorary degree by Teesside University tomorrow.
The Guisborough-born jockey made national headlines in 1981 when he won the Grand National on Aldaniti after a two-year battle against cancer.
After several months of chemotherapy, he returned to racing and his Grand National triumph marked a magnificent turnaround in his fortunes.
He became an MBE in 1983, and in the same year formed the Bob Champion Cancer Trust, which has raised millions for cancer research.
In recognition of his achievements, he will be awarded an honorary degree by the university's chancellor, Lord Sawyer.
Champion was taught at Laurence Jackson School, in Guisborough, and became a jockey in his teens, winning his first Cleveland Hunt point-to-point race aged 15.
His life story was fictionalised in the 1983 film Champions, where he was portrayed by John Hurt.
Four other people will receive degrees.
They are Charity Commission chairwoman Geraldine Peacock, former Hartlepool Borough Council leader Bryan Hanson, Southall Black Sisters founder Hannana Siddiqui and Manchester Airport Group chief executive Geoffrey Muirhead.
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