This Is Your Life: Sally Gunnell

Sally GUNNELL (1966-)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Sally Gunnell, athlete, was surprised by Michael Aspel during the final grand prix athletic meeting of the year as she finished her last competitive appearance at the International Stadium, Gateshead.

Sally, who was born in Chigwell, joined her local athletics club, the Essex Ladies, at age 11 and became accomplished in the long jump and heptathlon before specialising in hurdling. Having won her first gold medal in the 100m hurdles at the 1986 Commonwealth Games, she went on to win gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in the 400m hurdles.

During the 24 months between 1992 and 1994, Sally broke the British, European, and world records in the 400m hurdles. She is the only female British athlete in track history to hold all four major titles concurrently: Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth, and was the first female 400m hurdler in history to win the Olympic and World titles and break the world record.

"Oh my god! I can't believe this! What a way to go!"

programme details...

Edition No: 978
Subject No: 953
Broadcast date: Mon 29 Sep 1997
Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
Recorded: Sun 7 Sep 1997
Venue: unknown
Series: 38
Edition: 5
Code name: Medal

on the guest list...

Jeremy Guscott
Allison Curbishley
Roger Black
Jonathan Bigg - husband
Les - father
Rosemary - mother
Paul - brother
Martin - brother
Dionne Montgomery
Tracey Montgomery
Jane Montgomery
Catherine Eversden
John - nephew
Jenny - niece
Joanna - niece
Rosie - niece
Jane Rolfe
Helen Adeem
Sue Giles
Alec Giles
Ben Giles
Joanne Mulliner
Matthew - brother-in-law
Kriss Akabusi
David Hemery
Jennifer Stoute
John Regis
Colin McCallum
David Coleman
Linford Christie
Bruce Longden
Colin Jackson
Eric - horse
Chris Ellis
Ed Moses

production team...

Researchers: Sally Millson, Clare Thompson
Writer: Joe Steeples
Directors: John Gorman, Steve Docherty
Associate Producer: Liz Rawlings
Executive Producer: John Longley
Series Producer: Jack Crawshaw
Producer: Sue Green

names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

related pages...

Going for Gold

celebrating the world's best

Roger Black

Jeremy Guscott

David Hemery

Screenshots of Sally Gunnell This Is Your Life

The Independent 7 September 1997

Athletics: Gunnell starts new chapter

Sally Gunnell, who bade farewell to the track here last night in a novelty race, finished with what she described as "the final honour" - a tap on the shoulder from a man holding a big red book.

As a crowd of 9,110 looked on appreciatively as Michael Aspel intoned the familiar words: "It may be the end of your career, but it is not the end of your evening because, Sally Gunnell, This Is Your Life."

With which, British athletics' bemused leading lady - "I'm going to miss the party!" - was escorted away for a flight to London, where the BBC programme was recorded last night.

At 31, Britain's most successful female athlete, who three years ago held Olympic, World, Commonwealth and European titles as well as the 400m hurdles world record, is facing up to the rest of her life with several projects in mind. But she knows a change will not be easy.

"It's going to be hard for the next six months adjusting my life," she said. "There are tears in my eyes. I can't believe it has come to an end after all these years. I have achieved everything I wanted to - although if I was greedy I would have said I wanted another Olympic gold."

The injuries which undermined that ambition and also ruined 1995 and 1997, finally wore down Gunnell's desire to carry on. She is now looking forward to a career in television and planning to start a family with her husband, Jon Bigg.

One other interest is reflected in the way Gunnell intends to spend her first day of the rest of her life. She has booked a riding lesson today. Soon she may join her husband in local show jumping events riding the horse they own, Corky. And the horse they co-own, Eric, is being guided towards an Olympic appearance in three years' time.

The last race for Gunnell in a BUPA Grand Prix which marked the end of the domestic season was a farcical affair - a mixed 200 metres relay. Gunnell, running the last leg, finished clear as she has done so many times since winning the Olympic title in 1992. But on this occasion she had been freed by the lumbering efforts of her team's opponents on the third leg - a collection of throwers including Robert Weir, Britain's 19st discus champion.

Gunnell had considered running a more testing event, but could not trust the calf injury which had forced her premature retirement from last month's World Championships - better to go on a lighthearted note rather than a traumatic one.

Gunnell's announcement that last night would mark the end of her career served to intensify the interest in the athlete whom some believe can eventually take her place, Allison Curbishley. The 21-year-old from Teesside, who this year has won 400m titles at the European Under-23 Championships and World University Games, has been spoken of by Colin Jackson and Britain's chief coach, Malcolm Arnold, as "the next Sally Gunnell".

It is an onerous burden to carry and Curbishley, who plans to resume 400m hurdles running in earnest next season, regularly acknowledges it. "I can understand all the hype about the next Sally Gunnell, but it's a lot of pressure for an athlete," she said.

"I feel sorry for her, I really do," Gunnell said. "She is going to be under enormous pressure and I think people are expecting too much of her too soon."

"I am telling her not to get caught up in it all. I think it will be two to three years before she starts to show what she can really do. But in the meantime she could get some great publicity."

Last night, in windy conditions that tugged flags flying at half-mast to mark Princess Diana's death, Curbishley had her work cut out in a 400m that included Sandie Richards, the world silver medallist. Curbishley finished nearly 10 metres behind the Jamaican, recording 52.90sec. The winning time was 51.36.

The British performance of the night came from Nick Buckfield, fifth in the World Championships pole vault final last month, who raised his British record by four centimetres to 5.75m in finishing second to the world silver medalist, Maksim Tarasov, of Russia.

The evening proved anticlimactic for the local hero Jonathan Edwards. The world triple jump record holder, who returned from injury to earn a silver medal in last month's World Championships, looked weary as he finished in second place behind Britain's Francis Agyepong, who jumped 16.73m. Edwards could manage no more than 16.59.

There was also a sense of anticlimax in the 3,000m where Brendan Foster's stadium record of 7:35.2 - then a world record as he marked the opening of the stadium in 1974 - remained unchallenged by Kenya's Moses Kiptanui. The former world record holder finished more than 10 seconds outside Foster's time in 7:45.55. And the man Kiptanui coaches, multiple world record holder Daniel Komen, also had a relatively subdued night as he finished second in the 1500m to Canada's Graham Hood, who won in 3:39.44, nearly 10 seconds slower than Komen's best this year.

Series 38 subjects