Sally Gunnell speaks about her gold at Europian Championship 1994.

Sally Gunnell, who held the Olympic, world and European titles at 400m hurdles simultaneously, took gold in Helsinki 25 years ago.

Sally Gunnell OBE (born 29 September 1966) is a British former track and field athlete. She won the 400 metres hurdles gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, thus becoming only the second woman to win Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth gold medals in the same event. Sally Gunnell was born on 29 September 1966, in Chislehurst, Kent, England. She was a world-class 400m hurdles runner during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

And she re-posted a photo on Instagram of her crossing the line with the caption: “25 years ago today I won the 400m Hurdles at the European Championships in Helsinki.”

Gunnell is widely regarded as one of Britain’s greatest ever athletes and her career was ended prematurely by injury in 1997. Gunnell achieved her greatest success during a 24-month period, claiming gold at the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships and European Championships. After winning Olympic gold in 1992, she was made an OBE in the 1993 New Year Honours. She retired from athletics in 1997.

In her early years Sally Gunnell was a 400m specialist, but after some poor results she began to focus on the 400m hurdles. In 1986 she ran 55.51 seconds, which was a British record at the time. The following year she improved her time to 54.38 seconds, which brought her a bronze medal at the 1986 European Championships. In 1988 she won the World Student Games.

The following year Gunnell became a member of Britain’s Olympic team for the first time, although she did not make it past the semifinals. She did, however, win a gold medal as part of the 4x400m relay team.

In 1990 Gunnell won her first major individual title, taking the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand. She also won a silver medal in the 400m hurdles at the European Championships that year.

Gunnell’s breakthrough year came in 1991. She started off by setting a new world record of 52.74 seconds in May, becoming the first woman to run the 400m hurdles in under 53 seconds. This mark stood for over two years. She then went on to win the World Championship title in August, defeating American favourite and world record holder Kim Batten in the process.

The following year Gunnell became a double gold medalist, first winning the 400m hurdles at the European Championships in Helsinki, Finland, and then taking Olympic gold in Barcelona, Spain. She also won a bronze medal as part of the 4x400m relay team.

In 1993 Gunnell defended her World Championship title in Stuttgart, Germany. She also won gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada, and the European Championships in Helsinki.

1994 was another successful year for Gunnell. She won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, and followed that up with another gold at the European Championships in Helsinki. She also set a new world record of 52.10 seconds in Zurich, Switzerland, becoming the first woman to run the 400m hurdles in under 53 seconds on three occasions.

Gunnell’s final major championship came in 1995, when she won her third gold medal at the World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden. She retired from athletics in 1997.

Gunnell has since been active in a number of charitable causes, including serving as a patron of the Sally Gunnell Invitational, an annual fundraising event for Cancer Research UK. She also works with the British Olympic Association and is a member of their Athletes’ Commission. In 2012 she was one of the torchbearers for the London Olympic Games.

And she proved her class once again by storming to victory in a time of 54.48 seconds, just 0.04 seconds outside her personal best. “It was a great race and a great feeling to win,” Sally said after the race. “I’m really pleased with the time considering it’s my first race of the season. I just wanted to get out there and enjoy myself.”