OLYMPIC athlete Sally Gunnell OBE entertained guests at the latest Ulster Hockey Club 1896 Gala Lunch in Titanic Belfast, as she shared remarkable tales from her glittering athletics career and her personal and professional life since retirement from sport.
Speaking in conversation with broadcaster Denise Watson, the world record breaking athlete delighted guests with memories of the 1992 Olympics, the challenges she faced throughout her career and her ongoing goal of ‘sustaining excellence’ at every stage of life.
The audience, made up of representatives from local business and sport including special guests such as Lady Mary Peters and football legend Gerry Armstrong, also enjoyed a panel discussion between Lynsey Mallon, Managing Partner of law firm and event sponsor Arthur Cox, former international hockey champion Eugene Magee and Angela Platt, Director of Women’s Football with the Irish Football Association.
The panel explored areas of common ground such as embracing confidence, how to lead, the importance of inspiring young talent and the role of accessibility in both business and sport.
Speaking about the event, Chief Executive of Ulster Hockey Marc Scott said: “Having the incredible Sally Gunnell to our 2024 Gala Lunch as keynote speaker was an absolute honour. Sally’s rise to the top in the early 1990s was truly iconic and unforgettable. Her determination, talent and personality made her a much-loved figure. To hear firsthand how she achieved greatness and continues to apply a mindset of being the best you can be, was inspirational for everyone in the room.
“We were also privileged to have an extremely successful, distinguished panel of speakers in Lynsey Mallon, Eugene Magee and Angela Platt, each of whom provided fascinating insights into their own career journeys and provoked an interesting discussion amongst our audience.”
Club 1896 was formed by Ulster Hockey a year ago to bring together business and sports organisations to create valuable connections, inspire new partnerships and drive growth whilst also helping the profile and development of hockey in Northern Ireland. The forum meets four times a year for networking events that feature Q&As with well known figures from business and sport.
“This year’s Gala Lunch was a resounding success,” Marc Scott continued. “We are extremely encouraged by the positivity from all involved. The growing momentum behind our Club 1896 forum indicates that there is definite support for bringing the commercial and sporting worlds closer together for the greater good.”
BIOG: Sally Gunnell who won gold in the 400 metres hurles at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. During a 24-month period between 1992 and 1994, Gunnell won every international event open to her, claiming Olympic Games, World Championship, European Championship, Commonwealth Games, Goodwill Games, IAAF World Cup and European Cup golds in the event, and breaking the British, European and World records in it. She is the only female British athlete to have won all four ‘majors’; Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth titles, and was the first female 400 metres hurdler in history to win the Olympic and World titles and break the world record. Her former world record time of 52.74 secs in 1993 is still the current British record. She was named World and European Female Athlete of the Year in 1993, and was made an MBE in 1993 and an OBE in 1998.
L-R: Eugene Magee, compere Denise Watson, Lady Mary Peters, Sally Gunnell OBE, Lynsey Mallon (Arthur Cox Solicitors), Angela Platt (IFA) and Marc Scott (Ulster Hockey)
Lynsey Mallon (Arthur Cox Solicitors), Sally Gunnell OBE and Marc Scott (Ulster Hockey)
Lunch guests
Lynsey Mallon on the microphone
