Olympic star Tessa Sanderson has ­reopened the debate over female priests by refusing to allow a woman to conduct her wedding at St Paul’s Cathedral.

Her marriage last month to fellow ­Olympic competitor Densign White was a glamorous affair, with photographs of the couple’s big day spread across three pages of Hello! magazine.

They showed a smiling Miss Sanderson posing in front of the cathedral in her white dress and tiara, cutting a four-tiered wedding cake, and dancing with some of her 250 guests, including Olympic decathlete Daley Thompson.

The 54-year-old javelin thrower was also photographed with three of her nine bridesmaids, including former Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes, the current 400 metres Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu and former swimming star Sharron Davies.

Guests have revealed, however, that there was a last-minute hitch over which priest would conduct the service at St Paul’s, where Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer married in 1981. 

Mr Right: Miss Sanderson's groom and fellow Olympian Densign White

Although the Rev Andrew Hammond was due to marry the couple, he was ­unable to get to the service after becoming stranded in Asia during the volcanic ash cloud crisis.
Cathedral staff told the pair they had found a female priest to replace Mr Hammond but were surprised when Miss Sanderson, the first British black woman to win an Olympic gold, turned down their offer.

The marriage was eventually conducted on May 1 by the cathedral’s Canon Pastor, the Rt Rev Michael Colclough, a former Bishop of Kensington.

By Daily Mail