Sally Gunnell OBE

Sally Gunnell OBE; the farmer’s girl who captured the hearts of a nation. She remains the only woman ever to hold four major track titles concurrently – Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth. Since retiring from international athletics, Sally developed a new career path as a keynote speaker and well-being advocate.

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.

"Raw talent is no substitute for single mindedness and 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.

• Re-focusing on future challenges after great success
• Coming back down to earth without a bump
• Being clear about the new vision for achievement
• Calibrating targets and goals appropriately post success
• Getting beyond the newly expanded comfort zone


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. Sally explores:

• How small changes make a big difference
• The power of alignment that comes from a team-oriented goal setting process
• Unleashing the latent potential of a team
• The value of straight talking and a supportive learning environment
• Achieving optimal team dynamics

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. Sally examines:

• The value of 'what if' - thinking through what might go wrong
• The value of 'what is' – recognising, accepting and learning from failure
• Developing a strong mental approach
• Visualising the finer details of success
• Structured thinking and the sense of power it brings
• Silencing the internal 'doubting voice'

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

• Exercise why it's important to find something we enjoy
• Resilience – how do you build it
• Working Smarter not harder
• The Mind, Body connection
• Diet – it's not just the food we eat but what we absorb in our environment too

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. Sally addresses:

• Hormones – what impact do they have on our mental health
• Prevention – when we find self-acceptance, we understand our limits and how to push past them
• Communication – it begins with our internal voice
• Control – there is no such thing, our choice is responding or reacting

Sally can adapt her talks to the Audience – so if you have a specific requirement please ask.

Exclusive interview with Sally Gunnell OBE

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Clients often ask about purchasing books for giveaways and delegate packs. Below you’ll find a selection of products by Sally Gunnell OBE. Click the images to view on Amazon's website. For bulk orders, please speak with your Booking Agent.