Gold standard: Sally Gunnell flies the flag after her victory last night in the 400 metres hurdles at the Olympic Games in Barcelona.

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Gold standard: Sally Gunnell flies the flag after her victory last night in the 400 metres hurdles at the Olympic Games in Barcelona. Gunnell, 26, from Chigwell in Essex, became only the second British woman athlete to win a track gold medal at the Olympics, following in the footsteps of Ann Packer 28 years ago. She is also only the fifth British woman to win an athletics gold, after Packer, Mary Rand, Mary Peters and Tessa Sanderson.

The British women's team captain started the race conservatively. The world No 1, Sandra Farmer-Patrick, took an early lead, but Gunnell caught her by the eighth hurdle and then pulled away. Her time, 53.23sec, was her second fastest. She said after the race: 'It's been weeks, months and years of work, wondering whether it would all pay off - and now it has. It's brilliant.'