By David Martin, PA Sport

When the chips are down 'super' Sally Gunnell could always be relied upon and that was exactly the case in Barcelona eight years ago when in nail biting finish she became Olympic 400 metres hurdles champion.

It wasn't a good Games for the British women. Indeed only Phylis Smith, last in the 400m, Yvonne Murray, eighth over 3000m, Liz McColgan, fifth at 10,000m and Tessa Sanderson, fourth in the javelin, managed to make their respective individual finals.

That was very slightly balanced by the 4x400m relay squad of Smith, Sandra Douglas, Jenny Stoute and Gunnell, who performed magnificently to win the bronze medal behind a unified team from former Soviet states and the United States.

So much was expected of Gunnell, who only switched to the hurdles after starting her career as a long jumper and pentathlete.

She had a winning pedigree though having made her name winning the Commonwealth Games 100m hurdles gold medal at Edinburgh in 1986.

Two years later she set a British record for that event of 12.82sec - but her coach Bruce Longden persuaded her that her strength and stamina would be better suited to the 400m hurdles.

And so it proved when Gunnell - after beginning her new career with a 59.9sec debut in 1987 - finished fifth in the Seoul Olympic final with a personal best of 54.03sec.

At the 1990 Commonwealth Games Gunnell had truly grasped her new event and returned to Britain with a gold medal hanging proudly around her neck.

Now she was improving with every race and in the following year's World Championships she again shattered her personal best with a time of 53.16sec to win silver medal.

In no time at all the 1992 Games were upon her and now acknowledged along with Sandra Farmer-Patrick of the United States, as equal best in the world, much was expected of the down-to-earth Brighton-based athlete.

In Barcelona Gunnell was simply electrifying.

Her pre-Olympic training under Longden's expert eye had prepared her for every eventuality.

Mentally she had run the final over-and-over again in her mind.

Luck played its part when - after running a solid 53.78sec in the semi-final - she was given lane three with her American rival on the outside of her.

Gunnell tracked Farmer-Patrick from behind and kept to her game plan of fifteen strides between hurdles up to the sixth.

At the seventh she changed down for the run around the final bend and then it was sixteens all the way across the finishing line.

Along the back straight her great rival was slightly ahead - but not too far to cause concern.

Then at the eighth - with her heart beating even faster - Gunnell's golden hopes heightened when she pulled alongside Farmer-Patrick.

"I just concentrated down the home straight after running conservatively at the beginning so I could keep some energy for the finish," said Gunnell.

"I really stretched for the last hurdle but I was still running scared waiting for Sandra to come up.

"But I was just as determined to make sure she wasn't going to be able to."

Holding on with great confidence and style Gunnell won a tremendous race with Farmer-Patrick leading home her US colleague Janeene Vickers.

The following year Gunnell again beat Farmer-Patrick when winning the World title in Stuttgart.

But that victory was even tougher and their confrontation saw her set a new world record of 52.74sec which stood for two years.

Now 34 and married to Jon Biggs, Sally keeps herself busy as an athletics presenter for the BBC and, away from her media world, is still actively involved in the grass roots of a sport which she gave so much to.