Sally Gunnell OBE

Sally’s rise to the pinnacle of her sport was hard won. She blew the chance to be World Champion in 1991, stormed back to win Olympic Gold in 1992 and defied incredible odds to become World Champion in 1993, setting a new World Record in the process. She contended with injuries, athletes that she saw as more naturally gifted and, a relatively modest support infrastructure compared to her peers.

Her success, by her own admission, was down to a firm grip over her own mind and a lot of very hard graft.

Sally remains a towering figure in British athletics. She has more than 15 years’ experience in addressing a wide variety of corporate audiences. She has covered global conferences of thousands and senior leadership teams of just 6. Her natural, easy-going style belies her
relentless focus on achieving and sustaining excellence.

Sally effortlessly weaves the secrets of sporting achievement with the valuable components that underpin success in business. Her key themes hold resonance for senior decision-makers and junior staff alike. No corporate speaks, no clever-sounding management models.
Just tried-and-tested solutions and techniques that took a farmer’s daughter from the hay bales of Essex to the winner’s podium at the Barcelona Olympics.

Sally’s honest, down-to-earth approach has won her many admirers over the years. She has written four books and her latest gets right under the skin of what makes a successful, fulfilled person. For the first time, she brings together in one place all the themes that have
brought success in her sporting, business and family lives. ’10 hurdles for life ‘is for anyone who knows they have something to accomplish in life and is focused on enabling it to happen.

The only limit is our imagination, understand this and the game of life becomes more fun and less hard work.

Some examples of what Sally’s keynote speeches cover:

Sustaining Excellence:
When Sally won the gold, re-defining success was hard. where do you go from there. At 26 she needed new goals and a way of sustaining her appetite to be the best version of her.

Creating the qualities of High Performance:
The new Hybrid way of working requires us to push on to greater heights of achievement. This requires a strong focus on key components.

Personal Development
Failure is a fact of life in business and in sport. Dealing with it is a skill. And a valuable one at that.

Wellbeing:
The Mind, body, spirit connection is more important than ever and learning to be self-aware enough to know when to stand alone yet vulnerable enough to ask for help is part of both being human and staying well. In this interactive talk, Sally explores the importance of movement along with our need to remain resilient.

Leaders and Mental Health:
Being one of the lesser talents on the start line of major races would only have been a problem for Sally if she had let it. She spent years working her mind as well as her body to ensure this was not an issue.