Chigwell’s inspiring Olympian on life on an Essex farm, her extraordinary career and how she is optimising her age
The victorious retired sportswoman remains the only female British athlete to hold four major track titles concurrently: Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth. Since retiring from international athletics, national treasure Sally has carved out new career paths as a television presenter, keynote speaker and wellbeing advocate, and she is now on track with her aim to aid us all in ageing well.
Essex life
Hailing from Chigwell, Sally grew up on a 300-acre working farm just a few miles away from where the Olympic village is now. Driving tractors, suckling calves and plucking turkeys were all part of her hands-on family farm life.
‘I loved it!’ she tells me. ‘I was there for around the first 20 years of my life.’ She fondly recalls jumping over the baler behind the combine to carry a flask to her father in the driving seat. ‘That was GREAT training for hurdles!’ she laughs. ‘I had two older brothers, so we were a competitive family, and I was always trying to keep up with them.’
Her dedicated dad’s daily 5am wake-up time to milk the cows didn’t stop him driving his daughter to Crystal Palace for her races come the evenings, not seeing them back home until 9pm. ‘I'm really proud of my roots,’ she reveals. ‘I went to a great primary school, Chigwell Primary, and then went on to West Hatch and an amazing club called Essex Ladies.’
Sally’s brother, Martin, now runs the farm, while her other brother Paul is a builder. ‘My parents still live there and the rest of my family live around Theydon Bois. Even though I live in Sussex now, we’re there all the time visiting family. We are still very much part of Essex.’
The former track-and-field competitor met fellow athlete Jonathan Bigg, her husband and ‘backbone’ throughout her career, at an athletics meeting when they were just 19. She says her supportive spouse kept her feet on the ground. ‘He’d say I was only as good as my last race and would make me feel guilty if I didn't train.’
The couple’s three sons, Finley, Luca and Marley, have grown up knowing exercise is a fun way of life. ‘They play football, rugby and cricket and love sport, and I'm now a taxi service, like my parents were for me!’ laughs Sally.
Gunning for gold
Before specialising in hurdling, Sally started out in athletics with the Essex Ladies Club as an accomplished heptathlete and long jumper. 1992 saw her clinch a coveted Olympic gold medal in the 400-metre hurdles. As the first female 400m hurdler in history to win the Olympic and World titles and break the world record, she still retains the current British record and remains the only woman to have won all four majors.
Named World and European Female Athlete of the Year in 1993, Sally was made an MBE that same year and awarded an OBE in 1998. ‘An OBE is something you never dream of getting,’ she admits. ‘I got the MBE first, and then the OBE came at the same time as retirement. I’d just had my first baby as well, so it was just a magical sort of time, reflecting on what I’d achieved. And you never, ever dream of achieving anything like that in your lifetime. It was just a massive honour.'
The much-loved Essex girl stole the nation’s hearts with her phenomenal sporting achievements. ‘I was the only woman, so I became a sort of household name. And the Olympics is definitely the pinnacle; it’s the one where people still remember where they were on that night.’
All aboard!
Last year was something of a momentous year for Sally, with achievements and accolades aplenty. How did it feel to be part of the Platinum Jubilee pageant and entertain the London crowds on The Noughties Bus? She smiles, ‘I didn’t quite know what it was going to be all about, but to get driven around on a bus with famous faces including Dame Kelly Holmes, Sir Mo Farah, Martin Lewis, Chris McCausland and Gok Wan, it was just amazing to be part of it. And especially now that the Queen is no longer with us… it seemed to be such a fitting thing to be able to celebrate her Platinum years; I absolutely loved it!’
This royal occasion was soon followed by another memorable honour, seeing Sally take to the waters of Essex, where the former athlete christened the first ship for new British cruise line Ambassador at Tilbury Docks.
‘To be back in Essex to name and become Godmother to Ambience was amazing! The renaming ceremony was so exciting – to actually launch the Ambassador Cruise Line, especially as it comes from Essex and goes out of Tilbury to different parts of the world. To press the button on there and be the official Godmother was just something I’ll never forget. It’s great to see it doing so well and still be flying the Essex flag!’
The power of storytelling
As a (predominantly BBC) TV presenter until 2006, since retiring from sport Sally’s enjoyed being a motivational speaker, and she says there are many similarities between high performance in the worlds of sport and business.
‘I love my role as a keynote speaker, and being able to do something I enjoy for so long now is an absolute privilege,’ Sally says. ‘My experiences and lessons stem from the world of elite sport, which has afforded me the opportunity to pass on valuable tools and insights to build and maintain resilience on an individual and organisational level, enabling us to face challenging times.
‘Through sharing different parts of my journey and experiences to achieving my dream as a teenager (winning an Olympic Gold medal), as well as how I use those lessons learnt along the way, I get to inspire and motivate others to do the same. Knowing my journey to winning an Olympic Gold medal inspires others is so rewarding.’
Mental and physical health
With the last few years all about mental as well as physical health, many of the talks the sports star now carries out focus much more on health and wellbeing, rather than performance. Sally explains, ‘Exercise is still a very important part of my life, but it’s more about the mental side. I just know that I am much more productive and happier within myself. All these things are connected.’
The record-breaking athlete advises getting out into nature. ‘Many people are really struggling at the moment. We seem to have gone back to our safe havens.
We have all struggled over the last few years with working from home etc. and we should be pushing ahead. We need to help ourselves by looking after ourselves, setting new goals and projects to kick things off.’
And exercise is key for both fitness and mental wellbeing. ‘When we exercise, we produce these happy hormones: endorphins. Exercise doesn’t necessarily mean going for a run; it can be going for a walk, a bit of fresh air. Outdoor life can have a great effect on your mental health, and parks offer a free and easy solution. When you’re feeling down, do a few circuits or something you like just to see what a difference it makes. It should be the first prescription when you are anxious – get the heart rate up, and let those natural endorphins kick in!’
Optimise your age
Struggling with growing older? Sally says it shouldn’t be something you fear. ‘Don’t conform to what society thinks of ‘oldies’ – make the most of life. You only need to make some tweaks here and there to be in good shape and feel great.’
Last year saw Sally and her husband Jon kick off their Optimise Your Age (OYA) platform (optimiseyourage.com). ‘We want to change the perception and narrative of getting older to one of positivity and a time to really enjoy, so people can look forward to this next chapter of life, not dread it!’
The project sees her and hubby share easy-to-follow concepts, with workouts for all ages and abilities, designed to fit in with even the busiest of lives. ‘Since reaching our 50s, it’s become more apparent to Jon and I that we have reached a time in our life where we really need to think about how we look after ourselves, both physically and mentally.
‘We certainly don’t think of ourselves as old, because of our practical knowledge of how the human body ages through our separate careers, and we understand the importance of adapting our behaviour as we age, to get the best out of our minds and bodies. So, we set out to look at the different ways that you can optimise your age.
‘We reveal what happens to our bodies, muscles and our joints. We talk about the menopause, osteoporosis, bone health... all these things. It should be a great time in our lives where we can do things that are really fulfilling and be active and play with our grandchildren.’
Sally says mindset and acceptance are key when trying to understand how our bodies perform as we age. ‘So many people in their 70s say to me, “I wish I’d done this or that when I was younger”. We need to adapt our mindset! I try to raise awareness that, as we age, it is possible to still live life to the full; it’s just about thinking and doing things differently.’
She says many people ask her how they can keep themselves active as they age. ‘We are all going to live longer because of medicine and more knowledge, we are being asked to work for longer now, which is a good thing, but we still need to have the body and energy to do that. And we want to be still going for walks in our 80s and beyond, not be in care homes or have Zimmer frames!’
Strictly speaking about menopause
Sally’s also among the ever-increasing list of celebrities having conversations about ‘the change of life’. She recently partnered with BBC Strictly judge Shirley Ballas and QVC to discuss how we break stigmas through being open about our experiences of menopause.
The new campaign, Menopause Your Way, aims to change perceptions of the menopause and help you handle menopause, your way. Sally says it’s great that famous faces are finally talking about it.
‘It’s really important that we speak up; through conversation we can support each other. I’ve been going through it for about five years. Menopause is more than just a list of symptoms – it’s an emotional and physical journey and everyone’s experience is different. I was surprised about the different types of symptoms I experienced that wouldn't necessarily make you think you were starting to go through the menopause. My eyes would swell up and I’d think I’d had too much white wine, but it was hormones.’
What’s next?
Up next for Sally? A big focus on ‘me time’, she reveals. ‘To tell myself that it’s okay to sit down and read a book or watch TV. I’m a doer, and I realised that, as you get older, you can’t just keep on going. And I’ve had to factor in what I call my “me time and thinking time.” I say to myself, “I’m taking a day off to sit in the sauna or Jacuzzi.” In the past, I’d have felt guilty about those things, but now I realise that it’s so important to the body to repair itself and recover.’
Ultimately, this energetic Essex girl believes we all need to get more active and help ourselves. ‘There are too many sedentary lifestyles, especially when working from home. Have a little walk outside in the garden or park, look after yourself and live your best life!’
Visit optimiseyourage.com / @sallygunnell
