Sally Gunnell
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| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Women's Athletics | |||
Competitor for  Great Britain |
|||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Gold | 1992 Barcelona | 400 m hurdles | |
| Bronze | 1992 Barcelona | 4x400 m relay | |
| World Championships | |||
| Gold | 1993 Stuttgart | 400 m hurdles | |
| Silver | 1991 Tokyo | 400 m hurdles | |
| Bronze | 1993 Stuttgart | 4x400 m relay | |
| Goodwill Games | |||
| Gold | 1998 New York | 400 m hurdles | |
| IAAF World Cup | |||
| Gold | 1994 London | 400 m hurdles | |
| European Championships | |||
| Gold | 1994 Helsinki | 400 m hurdles | |
| European Cup | |||
| Gold | 1989 Gateshead | 400 m | |
| Gold | 1991 Frankfurt | 400 m hurdles | |
| Gold | 1993 Rome | 400 m hurdles | |
| Gold | 1994 Birmingham | 400 m hurdles | |
| European Indoor Championships | |||
| Gold | 1989 The Hague | 400 m | |
Competitor for  England |
|||
| Commonwealth Games | |||
| Gold | 1986 Edinburgh | 100 m hurdles | |
| Gold | 1990 Auckland | 400 m hurdles | |
| Gold | 1994 Victoria | 400 m hurdles | |
| Silver | 1990 Auckland | 100 m hurdles | |
Sally Jane Janet Gunnell OBE (born 29 July 1966 in Chigwell, Essex, England) is a former British Olympic champion in the 400m hurdles. She has also worked as a television presenter predominantly for the BBC until January 2006.[1]
[edit] Career
Gunnell started out in athletics with the Essex Ladies club[2] as an accomplished long jumper and pentathlete before turning to the sprints and hurdling and is the only woman to have held the European, World, Commonwealth and Olympic 400 metre hurdles titles at the same time.[3]
Gunnell won the 400m hurdles at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona.[4] She set the world record in the same event when she won gold in the 1993 World Championships. This record was broken by Kim Batten in 1995, but is still the UK record. Her defence of her Olympic title in Atlanta in 1996 was cut short as she pulled up in one of her races, injured. This seemed a particularly cruel blow as this race occurred on her 30th birthday.[5]
In 1996, Gunnell worked as a Red Cross ambassador in Angola. In September 1997, she retired after a recurrence of an achilles tendon injury.
In 1998, Gunnell was made an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire). [6]
In summer 2006, she was a celebrity showjumper in the BBC's Sport Relief event Only Fools on Horses.[7]
She is married to fellow athlete Jonathan Bigg, and has three children; Finley, Luca, and Marley (all boys). She lives in Sussex in a village just outside Brighton.[8]
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by None |
Women's European Athlete of the Year 1993 |
Succeeded by Irina Privalova |
| Sporting positions | ||
Preceded by Tatyana Ledovskaya |
Women's 400m Hurdles Best Year Performance 1992 — 1994 |
Succeeded by Kim Batten |
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[edit] References
- ^ BBC undermined me so I quit, says Gunnell Daily Mail, accessed 08/11/07
- ^ The Glorious Tale of Two Clubs now United. Woodford Green Athletic Club, accessed 08/11/07
- ^ Sally Gunnell BBC, accessed 08/11/07
- ^ Sally Gunnell britisholymplians.com, accessed 08/11/07
- ^ Essex at 20: Sally Gunnell BBC, accessed 08/11/07
- ^ Sports stars share honours BBC, accessed 08/11/07
- ^ Celebs saddle up for Sport Relief BBC, accessed 08/11/07
- ^ Super Sally's Spanish Success Sporting Life, accessed 08/11/07
