Sonia O’Sullivan is the epitome of boundless energy, and she continues to contribute to Irish sport today, as she has done for over two decades.
Ireland’s greatest athlete? Possibly. Ireland’s greatest Olympian? It has to be close. Four Olympics as an athlete, one as an excellent Chef de Mission and until Katie Taylor did her thing in London, Ireland’s only female medalist at an Olympics.
Some will only remember the bad times the Cobh runner had at Olympic Games, like a fourth place in 1992 and her torrid time in Atlanta blighted by illness and Chinese competitors with allegations hanging over them, but 2000 in Sydney outshines all those dark days.
A brilliant 5,000 metre final saw Sonia just pipped into second by Romania’s Gabriella Szabo, with all the rest simply miles behind. While O’Sullivan surely deserved to win the top prize, a silver at least gave her some Olympic return for her extraordinary commitment to the Games.
But away from the famous flame, O’Sullivan gobbled up medals. She won the World Championship over 5,000m in 1995, adding to the silver in the 1,500 she won two years before.
Three European Championship gold medals (3,000m 1994, 5,000m 1998, 10,000m 1998) and two silvers (5000 and 10000 2002) are also tucked away in a drawer somewhere while O’Sullivan also won the World Cross Country crown in both 8km and 4km in 1998. That sort of haul doesn’t happen without bags and bags of class, talent and brutal determination.
While Athens 2004 saw O’Sullivan appear at her fourth Games, and while she trailed in in last place in the 5,000m final, she was applauded all the way around her final lap, a touching tribute to the bravery of her run and a well-deserved send-off from her sport’s highest level.
After Athens, even though she was 34, O’Sullivan didn’t quit and instead turned her attentions to longer distances and competed in her first marathon. She didn’t officially hang up her spikes until 2007.
But retirement hasn’t slowed down O’Sullivan. Now based in Australia, where she lives with husband Nic Bideau and two kids, you get the sense that if the body was up to it, O’Sullivan would still be competing.
Speaking to JOE just before she took charge of the Irish team at London, O’Sullivan said: “For me training was such good fun, now I have to squeeze in training in between things and I still love to train and to do things. Like I can’t run as fast I used to, but I love to swim and cycle and do other things and I really have to because otherwise I wouldn’t have the energy I need to get out there and inspire people.
“So I’ll definitely need time to get out there and have a race with someone or do something silly!”
We have been blessed with tremendous Irish track and cross country athletes. From Ronnie Delany to Fionnuala Britton we seem to produce at least one world-class runner much more often than you would expect for a country of our size.
But Sonia, for her longevity, her medal haul and just the sheer drama she brought to countless Irish summers, stands above the rest on the track.
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