In 1981, at the European Junior Championships in Utrecht, Thomas won a silver medal in the 100 meters behind the GDR's Kathrin Bohme, running a wind-assisted 11.43 secs.

[1] In 1982, still only 19, Thomas competed at the European Championships in Athens, where she anchored the British sprint relay quartet to a silver medal.

At the inaugural World Championships in Helsinki in 1983, Thomas once again anchored Great Britain to a silver medal in the sprint relay, finishing behind the East Germans but managing to hold off the fast finishing Jamaicans, anchored by Merlene Ottey, 42.71 to 42.73.

[2] The injury also cost her the chance of an Olympic relay medal, with the British squad going on to win the bronze.

[3] Shirley Thomas' achievements occurred during the so-called Golden Era of British women's sprinting, made all the more remarkable as many of their rivals were on performance-enhancing drug programs.