Gunnell ecstatic after Lewis gold

Former 400m hurdles gold medallist and BBC Olympic expert Sally Gunnell marvels at the courage of Denise Lewis and the fine performances from Britain's women in the 400m.

Well what can you say about Denise Lewis? She was just unbelievable.

We were literally counting every step and watching the clock to see what time the Russian girl clocked.

We were not sure how bad her injury problem was but we knew she wasn't going to pull out of the Olympic hepthalon going into the last round, especially when she was in the gold medal position.

I know the elation she is feeling and her life is about to change dramatically

  Sally Gunnell

We could see how difficult the last 200m were for her, but she dug deep enough to secure the gold to show immense character and guts and deserves that gold more than any other athlete.

Elation

I know the elation she is feeling and her life is about to change dramatically. It's one of those moments that you will never forget, you want to take everything in and put it in a box to look back on in the future.

But it wasn't just Denise who gained all the attention. Katharine Merry and Donna Fraser both reached the final of the 400m final.

To have two women in the final is almost unheard of, especially as the men haven't performed as well as they normally do in the event.

The road to the final is tough with four rounds of qualification and the runs will take its toll on their legs, but the girls will be pleased to get into the final.

Katherine Merry: Good lane draw

Katharine has an excellent lane draw in three, but I'm not sure if Cathy Freeman can be beaten.

She, like Michael Johnson, hasn't run flat out in the qualifying rounds, but will put that extra effort into the final where I think she will take the gold.

Podium

But the silver and bronze positions are wide open and I think both of our girls have a good chance of making the podium.

Another great run was from Natasha Danvers in the 400m hurdles.

She was so strong and for her to run that time, which was not far off her personal best, showed her talent as a hurdler.

I think realistically the final will be out of her reach, but there is nothing stopping her from improving on her personal best, but who knows?

It was such a shame for Ashia Hansen. She has had such an awful season with injuries and personal problems.

She made two good jumps, but unfortunately they were both no jumps and unfortunately, she couldn't make her last one count.

I think she did ever so well to get to the final, but she needs to put this year out of her mind and concentrate on next season.