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Sally Gunnell
High Performance
Workplace Wellbeing
Menopause
Build high-performing teams with Sally Gunnell OBE, speaker and Olympic champion. Sally works with organisations to develop resilience, pressure management, and goal-setting strategies, delivering world-record insights as the only woman in athletic history to simultaneously hold Olympic, World, European, and Commonwealth gold medals.
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Sally Gunnell OBE is a former Olympic 400 metres hurdles champion and world record holder who now speaks to businesses on goal setting, resilience, and performing under pressure.
In 1994, Sally became the only woman to hold the Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth 400 metres hurdles titles at the same time, setting a world record of 52.74 seconds in Stuttgart that still stands as the British record. She went on to build a second career as a television presenter and athletics commentator, working with Channel 4 and the BBC.
Sally draws on the discipline required to peak for a single defining race to explain how businesses can build resilient teams and sustain performance over the long term. Her presentations teach the mindset for managing pressure, setting stretch goals, and recovering from setbacks, drawing on the same preparation that took her from a promising junior athlete to world number one.
Audiences leave Sally's sessions with a clearer framework for setting ambitious but achievable goals, practical techniques for staying focused under scrutiny, and a renewed appreciation for the value of sustained, incremental improvement over instant results.
Book Sally for a keynote grounded in genuine world-class experience, turning Olympic-level focus into lessons any organisation can use.
Topics, sessions and talks
Sally Gunnell OBE explores how to build strength physically, mentally, and emotionally in today's demanding world. Drawing on her journey from Olympic gold to life beyond sport, she shares simple, sustainable habits that keep people resilient, confident, and consistent under pressure. Sally moves beyond the podium moment to show what everyday performance actually looks like, at work and at home. Audiences leave with practical habits for building real, lasting strength, whatever challenge comes next.
Sally Gunnell OBE explores the mindset, preparation, and discipline that carried her from Olympic hopeful to Olympic champion. She unpacks the daily habits and total commitment behind exceptional results, showing how focus and self-belief combine to create performance under real pressure. Sally's path to gold grounds the talk in lived experience rather than theory, offering a candid look at what it takes to win. Audiences come away with a clearer sense of what disciplined preparation looks like in their high-pressure moments.
Winning once is an achievement; staying there is the real challenge. Sally Gunnell OBE reflects on her move from Olympic champion to World champion, and what it took to manage expectation, sustain motivation, and keep evolving once the spotlight was on. She explores the difference between a single great result and sustained excellence over time, sharing how leaders can do the same. Audiences leave with a practical sense of how to keep performing without burning out, even as pressure builds.
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frequently asked questions
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Email sally.gunnell@getapeptalk.com or call PepTalk on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US), and one of our speaker agents will contact you within hours to confirm Sally's availability and fees. If you can, please include your budget upfront – it helps us fast-track your request. It’s also helpful to know the date, format (virtual or in-person), location, and a bit about your audience.
Sally Gunnell structures her talks around her own athletic career, using the preparation and mindset behind specific competitive milestones — from Olympic hopeful to simultaneous holder of four major titles — to illustrate performance principles. Each session moves from lived experience to transferable framework, giving audiences concrete habits around goal-setting, pressure management, and sustained output.
Sally Gunnell structures her talks around her own athletic career, using the preparation and mindset behind specific competitive milestones — from Olympic hopeful to simultaneous holder of four major titles — to illustrate performance principles. Each session moves from lived experience to transferable framework, giving audiences concrete habits around goal-setting, pressure management, and sustained output.
Sally Gunnell structures her talks around her own athletic career, using the preparation and mindset behind specific competitive milestones — from Olympic hopeful to simultaneous holder of four major titles — to illustrate performance principles. Each session moves from lived experience to transferable framework, giving audiences concrete habits around goal-setting, pressure management, and sustained output.
Sally Gunnell OBE speaks on resilience and sustained performance, high-performance mindset and preparation, and managing pressure and expectation at the top. She is the only woman to have held the Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth 400 metres hurdles titles simultaneously, setting a world record of 52.74 seconds in Stuttgart in 1994 that remains the British record.
Sally Gunnell OBE speaks on resilience and sustained performance, high-performance mindset and preparation, and managing pressure and expectation at the top. She is the only woman to have held the Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth 400 metres hurdles titles simultaneously, setting a world record of 52.74 seconds in Stuttgart in 1994 that remains the British record.
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