Sally Gunnell
Encyclopedia
Sally Jane Janet Gunnell OBE
(born 29 July 1966 in Chigwell
, Essex
, England
) is a former British
Olympic
champion in the 400 m hurdles. She has also worked as a television presenter predominantly for the BBC
until January 2006.
club as an accomplished long jump
er and pentathlete
, before turning to the sprints
and hurdling.
Gunnell won the 400 m hurdles at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games
in Barcelona
. 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.
In 1996, Gunnell worked as a Red Cross ambassador in Angola
. In September 1997, she retired after a recurrence of an achilles tendon
injury.
Gunnell remains the only woman to have held the European
, World
, Commonwealth
and Olympic
400 metre hurdles titles at the same time. This record can only be matched by an athlete from the United Kingdom, Gibraltar
, Malta
or Cyprus
, as these are the only European nations that also compete in the Commonwealth Games
.
In summer 2006, she was a celebrity showjumper in the BBC's Sport Relief
event Only Fools on Horses
. She also won a Weakest Link Sporting Heroes Special, first broadcast on Saturday 25th July 2009 on BBC One.
She took part in a celebrity version of TV show Total Wipeout
which aired on 2 January 2010.
In the 1998 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was made an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire). In 2011, Gunnell was appointed Deputy Lieutenant
of West Sussex
.
, a village in West Sussex
, just outside Brighton
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 29 July 1966 in Chigwell
Chigwell
Chigwell is a civil parish and town in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located 11.6 miles north east of Charing Cross. It is served by two London Underground stations and has a London area code.-Etymology:According to P. H...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) is a former British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
champion in the 400 m hurdles. She has also worked as a television presenter predominantly for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
until January 2006.
Athletics
Gunnell started out in athletics with the Essex LadiesWoodford Green with Essex Ladies
Woodford Green with Essex Ladies is one of the leading British athletics clubs and is based in Woodford, London. The club topped Division 1 of the British Athletics League for the first time in 2005.-Notable current athletes:* Tiffany Porter* Joice Maduaka...
club as an accomplished long jump
Long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
er and pentathlete
Pentathlon
A pentathlon is a contest featuring five different events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words pente and -athlon . The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Ancient Olympic Games...
, before turning to the sprints
Sprint (race)
Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...
and hurdling.
Gunnell won the 400 m hurdles at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. She set the world record in the same event when she won gold
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
in the 1993 World Championships
1993 World Championships in Athletics
The 4th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium, Stuttgart, Germany between August 13 and August 22 with the participation of 187 nations....
. This record was broken by Kim Batten
Kim Batten
Kim Batten is a retired female American 400 meter hurdles champion. She was the 1995 world record holder in the women's 400-meter hurdles....
in 1995, but is still the UK record. Her defence of her Olympic title
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
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.
In 1996, Gunnell worked as a Red Cross ambassador in Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
. In September 1997, she retired after a recurrence of an achilles tendon
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon , also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendo calcaneus, is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius and soleus muscles to the calcaneus bone.- Anatomy :The Achilles is the tendonous extension of 3 muscles in the lower leg:...
injury.
Gunnell remains the only woman to have held the European
European Championships in Athletics
The European Athletics Championships is an event organized by the European Athletic Association. It is organised every four years, the same year as the Commonwealth Games and between the Summer Olympic Games cycle. After the 2010 Championships in Barcelona, the European Championships will take...
, World
World
World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....
, Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
and Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
400 metre hurdles titles at the same time. This record can only be matched by an athlete from the United Kingdom, Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
or Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, as these are the only European nations that also compete in the Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
.
Television
She was one of the four celebrity guests in the ITV's You Bet - Series 7 (1993-4), co-winning with Michaela Strachan, donating her winnings to a charity working to find a cure for breast cancer.In summer 2006, she was a celebrity showjumper in the BBC's Sport Relief
Sport Relief
Sport Relief is a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, which brings together the worlds of sport and entertainment to raise money to help vulnerable people in both the UK and the world's poorest countries...
event Only Fools on Horses
Only Fools on Horses
Only Fools on Horses was a BBC reality television programme produced by Endemol UK. The show's name was a play on that of the sitcom Only Fools and Horses, and first aired on 7 July 2006. It featured twelve celebrities who performed equestrian events, with one celebrity being eliminated every day...
. She also won a Weakest Link Sporting Heroes Special, first broadcast on Saturday 25th July 2009 on BBC One.
She took part in a celebrity version of TV show Total Wipeout
Total Wipeout
Total Wipeout is a British game show, hosted by Richard Hammond and Amanda Byram, which first aired on 3 January 2009. Each week 20 contestants compete in a series of challenges in an attempt to win £10,000. These challenges are based in large pools of water or mud and generally involve large...
which aired on 2 January 2010.
Recognition
In the 1993 New Year Honours, Gunnell was made an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire.In the 1998 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was made an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire). In 2011, Gunnell was appointed Deputy Lieutenant
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
of West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
.
Personal life
She is married to fellow athlete Jonathan Bigg, and has three sons; Finley, Luca, and Marley. She lives in SteyningSteyning
Steyning is a small town and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the north end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, four miles north of Shoreham-by-Sea...
, a village in West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
, just outside Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
.
External links
- Sally Gunnell Official Website
- Profile at the IMDb
- http://www.mtc-uk.com/talent/sally-gunnell/