Mums Can Do had the pleasure of speaking with sporting icon, Sally Gunnell OBE, for an exclusive conversation about leadership, resilience and what it really takes to perform at the highest level.
Best known for her historic gold medal in the 400m hurdles at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Sally remains the only woman to ever hold all four major championship gold medals; Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth titles simultaneously.
But these achievements did not come without challenges. Speaking with Mums Can Do Founder, Imtiaz, Sally shared her advice for Mums around the importance of mindset and working towards wellbeing.
She said: “I think it’s all about getting good people around you and asking for help. It’s about not giving yourself a hard time, believing in yourself and what you’re capable of doing. Think outside the box, think big and be kind to yourself.”
Sally’s talk at the Women in Leadership Conference was centred around overcoming the challenges that life throws your way, aptly titled ‘Life’s Hurdle’. Throughout her session, Sally spoke passionately about the valuable lessons that she learned from her career in athletics and the ways that these moments can be applied to everyday life.
On building confidence
Despite speaking naturally to a room packed with eager listeners, Sally explained that confidence did not come naturally to her. She said: “Women have so much resilience, especially if we put our minds to it. I was not the most confident of people and it took a lot of people to help me build that confidence into my life.”
Setting the scene for the rest of her talk, Sally added: “There is so much synergy between the world of my sporting performance then, and what I take from that into my life now… and hopefully there will be some things that you can take away with you.”
On staying fit
Sally shared the importance of staying fit for mental and physical wellbeing. She explained: “Physical activity is a really important part of my life. I still want to be out there, walking, being able to get myself out of the chair, or lift that suitcase out of the airplane. It’s all about having good, strong physical health - whether that’s heart or muscle.”
“Your muscles start fading at 35… that’s quite scary isn’t it. But lifting weights, even if you’ve never done it, is the best thing. If you don’t go to the gym, you can even do it in the lounge. If you can do it two or three times a week, for just 20 to 30 minutes, it makes a difference. The other thing is to get steps in and get moving wherever you can. It’s hard when you’re at a desk job, but it makes such a difference. If you manage 3,000 or 4,000 steps per day, ask yourself how you can build it up to 5,000 or 6,000 throughout the day. It’s just so important.”
On controlling your inner voice
Sally set the scene of the day she won Olympic gold, sharing the emotions that surrounded her performance and life-changing advice given to her by sports psychologists.
She said: “This wasn’t an Olympic final… this was me telling myself that I can only do the best I can. If I know I’ve given it 100% and I don’t win a medal, at least I know I’ve given it everything. I had to bring it down to this level… to just get in there and do your best.”
Her key advice centred around controlling the narrative you tell yourself, with Sally sharing her game-changing approach to fear: “A sports psychologist told me that we’re all born with the voice that says “Am I really good enough? I’ve got so many emails. I haven’t slept very well. I’ve not eaten well. I’ve got no energy.” You either choose to listen to that voice, or not. He used to say to me that the people who excel in life are the ones that can control that voice… and the more pressure that’s on, the bigger that voice gets. We’ve all got that.
“He said that this voice will be massive on the day, but every time that voice comes in, you need to stop that negative sentence. You stop it, you screw it up in a piece of paper, throw it out and you force-feed yourself confidence, because nobody else gives you confidence in life. You have to find it yourself.
“It’s all about reminding yourself… I am good enough. I trained hard for this. I’m just as good as everybody else. I deserve this.
“Anyway, they line us up and I walk out on the track. I’m in lane three, then I look up and see 60,000 people in that stadium. I could feel the nerves coming and I threw my vision down onto the ground and went into something called the zone… a lovely place. I only ever did it twice in my career, now and when I was breaking that world record. It’s where you block out absolutely everything. You’ve mentally rehearsed this moment so many times in your mind, so you go into autopilot and that’s exactly what I did. I don’t remember any of the race. I don’t even remember the guy saying ‘on your marks, get set’, or the gun for us to go.”
Watch Sally Gunnell win Olympic gold
Click here to watch Sally Gunnell win Olympic Gold in Barcelona 1992.
Her conversation around being able to control your inner voice is certainly one that can resonate with many Mums, overcoming daily challenges while needing to maintain a level of performance, whether this is in work, parenting, or juggling day-to-day life.
A final note for Mums
Sally concluded the conversation by sharing a final note for Mums. She touched on the nerves that we feel for others and the ways that mastering our own nerves can bring a sense of control, achievement, and lead to life’s greatest successes.
She said: “I now know, having three boys who are all sporty… it’s much worse watching than actually being there, in control.”
Want to see more? Click here to watch Imtiaz speak with Sally Gunnell OBE.