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Sally Gunnell Biography
Sally Gunnell OBE holds a place in the hearts of the nation as the most popular female sportswomen of our times, and our most successful. She is the only woman to hold four titles concurrently – Olympic, World, European & Commonwealth and also held the World Record for the 400m hurdles. To many she was ‘the girl next door’, the daughter of an Essex farmer who’s warm and easygoing manner belied her incredible sporting achievements.
Training to win
Whilst Sally was naturally a very talented runner, one thing she is very aware of is that although she had to train very hard physically, the amount of mental training was just as important. When she trained she focused strongly on imagining her best performance. It became so natural for her to think this way, that when she did run there was a time lapse before she realised that she had actually won the race rather than just imagined it. Sally went on to win Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth medals using these techniques. She now uses the same approach in her role as a member of the BBC sports team and bringing health and fitness to a wider audience through non-threatening and easy to understand principles.
Sally Gunnell’s career on and off the track provides a unique insight into achieving a balance in life and proven recipes for success and fulfilment. During her career she adopted key principles and routines with her ‘team’ that delivered the results most people can only dream of. Now her off-track career has seen her combine commercial commitments with her community and charitable work, whilst being a mother and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
A compelling speaker
Sally’s presentation relates to a wide cross-section of businesses in all sectors, providing realistic goal setting and fresh approaches that can apply to any of us. It is about delivering easy to follow concepts that relate to the broadest spectrum possible. It is not just another motivational talk from a top sportsperson. It is, however, based on a combination of the basic ideas in Sally’s campaign for gold with some principles of well being both physical and mental that she has gleaned from four years working with leading names in these fields.
Sally’s polished corporate presentation is a fascinating story of grit and determination to ensure success and she is much in demand as a motivational and after dinner speaker, but with her relaxed yet experienced style, she is also perfect for awards hosting.
For further information or to book Sally Gunnell, call us at Speakers Corner on +44 (0)20 7607 7070 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk
Sally Gunnell Video
Sally Gunnell Speaker Showreel - Click play to watch a short sample video clip of Sally Gunnell. For more information on Sally Gunnell please contact one of the Speakers Corner booking agents on +44 (0)20 7607 7070 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk
Sally Gunnell News
A selection of relevant news related to Sally Gunnell, Awards Hosts & Presenter, Keynote Speakers and Motivational Speakers, Sport Speakers and Women Speakers stories. For more information on Sally Gunnell or details as to how to book Sally Gunnell for your corporate event, please contact one of the Speakers Corner booking agents on +44 (0)20 7607 7070 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk
Sally Gunnell on Running and Motherhood
17th October 2012
Olympic gold medallist Sally Gunnell has admitted that running helps her to be a better mum to her children.
Rebecca Adlington Hopes to Become TV Presenter
17th May 2013
Olympic Gold medallist, Rebecca Adlington has spoken about her hopes of becoming a TV presenter one day.
Anna Watkins Announces She is Pregnant
25th March 2013
Olympic double skulls champion and motivational speaker, Anna Watkins, has announced that she is pregnant.
Suzi Perry Begins New Formula 1 Job
11th March 2013
Awards host and TV presenter, Suzi Perry has started her new job as the BBC’s Formula 1 host.
Karen Pickering defends Tom Daley
21st February 2013
Motivational speaker and former swimming world champion, Karen Pickering, has voiced her opinion on Olympic athletes receiving media attention in light of the criticism that athletes received in the run up to 2012.
Debra Searle's Ice Mums
5th February 2013
Motivational speaker and awe-inspiring sportswoman Debra Searle has announced plan to take a group of mums trekking to the South Pole.
Dee Caffari Sails In Middle East
1st February 2013
Inspirational yachtswoman Dee Caffari has taken her success to the Middle East in the impressive position of coach and skipper of the Women's Sailing Team in Oman.
Duncan Bannatyne on Comic Relief Celebrity Great British Bake-Off Line-Up
11th January 2013
The popular show will be returning for a four-part Comic Relief celebrity special on BBC Two.
New Years Honours 2012
31st December 2012
This year’s New Years Honours list has been dominated by stars of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.
CBC’s 12 Most Influential People of 2012
24th December 2012
CBC News has released its list of the 12 most influential people of 2012, including politicians, activists and the South Korean singer who has recently taken the world by storm.
Sally Gunnell Reviews
Sally Gunnell has spoken and appeared at a number of recent corporate events. Please find some client speaker testimonials and reviews for Sally Gunnell for a number of these events and conferences. If you would like some additional information as to how to book Sally Gunnell for your corporate event, then please contact one of the Speakers Corner booking agents on +44 (0)20 7607 7070 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk
...You can take messages from Sally's speech without having to have the vision of winning an Olympic Gold and the message fitted extremely well with everything else we were doing during the 2-day conference. On the evening itself a number of people mentioned how nice it was that Sally and her husband mingled quite happily and appeared very relaxed chatting to people in the bar prior to dinner and joined in conversations quite happily at the dinner table and afterwards. Sally was very happy to have photographs taken and to sign autographs - again something that our guys appreciated. From the point of view of the person who selected Sally as the speaker - I reckon I made a good choice!...
Sally gave an inspiring presentation and the CSO team left the meeting feeling very motivated. It was valuable seeing how Sally related her experiences to the every day challenges in the workplace.
Sally Gunnell provided a fantastic finale to our Women's Network conference. Her talk was engaging and interesting, and was very well-received. The story Sally told of perseverance and self-belief sent out an excellent message to the women of CBRE and I would highly recommend her as a speaker at any type of function.
On behalf of Rolls-Royce, I would like to thank you for your inspirational contribution to our conference. Your portrayal of the formation of your back-up team and the success that it subsequently brought you was very relevant to the theme of our conference. The conference delegates were delighted that, following the dinner, you gave your time for photo-calls and autographs, the finished the evening both inspired and thrilled!
We all had a great time at the Commercial Conference and Sally's presence and presentation at the Awards Dinner was really the icing on the cake. It was much remarked to me during the evening as to how friendly, approachable and overall such an impressive a character Sally is.
Sally did a great job of inspiring our delegates during our conference on winning in the new environment. A great success.
Sally gave an inspiring presentation about her experiences which she related very well to the every day challenges in the workplace.
Very engaging well pitched for the audience
Sally is such an inspiration. She is down to earth and a brilliant motivational speaker. At the Women in Construction Awards 2012 she had everyone on the edge of their seats, you could even hear a pin drop. All of our guests loved her. I would definitely recommend her as a speaker.
We wanted Sally's talk to be motivational and it certainly was! Guests spoke afterwards about the hairs of the back of their neck standing on end, when she showed winning the gold at Barcelona.
Sally was “guest Olympian” at our event to launch a new development programme for high potential managers and captivated the audience with an inspirational and motivational presentation. We were also struck by how friendly, approachable and humble Sally was as she chatted with guests afterwards.
Please can you pass on my heartfelt thanks to Sally. It was an honour to meet her and the team were completely inspired and highly motivated by her words. Holding her gold medal was also a "Wow" moment! I am very grateful for the impact this has had upon the Leadership Team.
A fine speech which was well received by the audience. Sally was very accommodating and posed for photos and signed autographs. Client felt Sallys speech could have included more info re olympic bid process.
Q & A with Sally Gunnell
Sally Gunnell answered some probing questions for Speakers Corner. For speaking secrets revealed - read on! To book Sally Gunnell for your event, please contact one of the Speakers Corner booking agents on +44 (0)20 7607 7070 or info@speakerscorner.co.uk
Speakers Corner: Can you remember your first speaking engagement?
Sally Gunnell: My first speaking engagement was for IBM which was approximately 6 years ago to about 3,500 people! Very nerve racking but I took myself back to the place I put myself before an important race and drew on my knowledge and experience! I actually got to practice what I was about to preach....!!
Speakers Corner: What’s the worst thing that has happened to you during an event?
Sally Gunnell: I feel I have been very lucky with only video equipment failing to work.
Speakers Corner: What was the last event you spoke at?
Sally Gunnell: The last event I spoke at was for Aviva.
Speakers Corner: Which event has been your favourite and why?
Sally Gunnell: It has to be an event I spoke at in Mauritius! I think you can understand why this has to be one of my favorites......
Speakers Corner: If you could speak at any event, past or future, what would it be?
Sally Gunnell: I don't think I there is one specific event I could name but I suppose if I had to narrow it down it would be an event where I get to tap into my experience and achievements to make a change and where I get the opportunity to work more in depth with the audience!
Speakers Corner: Which speaker/performer do you most admire and why?
Sally Gunnell: Again another difficult one to answer but I suppose it would be any good speaker that makes a difference; that helps and encourages their audience to make a difference to their own lives, however small!
Speakers Corner: What is your worst on-stage habit?
Sally Gunnell: I can on occasion talk a little fast. It's not through a want to get it over and done with but more so through excitement. That might stem from the events atmosphere, audience engagement or the impact I hope to have on an audience/event.
Speakers Corner: What annoys you most professionally?
Sally Gunnell: If I had to name something it would probably be when AV equipment doesn't work!
Speakers Corner: Do you have any riders or special requirements?
Sally Gunnell: No! I like to think I quite a genuine down to earth person so I just take each person and situation as I find it.
Speakers Corner: Why should an organiser hire you to speak at their event?
Sally Gunnell: I've never been one for self promotion so I thought I would more appropriate to tell you what people have said about me - 'I have listened and hired several speakers but I have never seen so many entranced faces than when Sally was on stage. They were inspired!' She certainly left us all with a bit of a lump in the throat from watching the DVD and feeling very fortunate to have her as our guest speaker 'We found Sally to be truly engaging and inspiring, and surprisingly entertaining. What a down to earth lady - Thank you!'
For further information or to book Sally Gunnell, call us on +44 (0)20 7607 7070 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk
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