Sonia O'Sullivan (born 28 November 1969) is an Irish former
track and field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
2000 Olympic Games
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
in 2004. She is known for her dramatic kick, clocking 28-second final 200 m splits in some of her races.
She is one of two women (the other Tirunesh Dibaba) who won the short and long course World Cross Country title at the same championship (1998 in Marrakesh).
Early career
Born in
Cobh
Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With a population of 14,148 inhabitants at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Cobh is on the south si ...
,
County Cork
County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, she set a new world indoor record in the 5000 m of 15:17.28, taking more than 5 seconds off the old record. At the time, O'Sullivan (who attained a sporting scholarship) was studying accountancy at
Villanova University
Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...
in the US, and at the World Student Games at Sheffield in July 1991, she won the 1500 m gold medal in 4:12.14, and the silver medal in the 3000 m in 8:56.55. At the start of 1992, she finished 7th in the World Cross Country Championships.
She won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's top female cross-country runner in 1991–92.
In 1992, O'Sullivan improved her personal bests in a number of distances between 800 m and 5000 m, setting six Irish national records in the process, including five in the space of 11 days in mid-August following the
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
. At Barcelona, in the 3000 m final, O'Sullivan was always in contention and hit the lead in the back straight on the final lap, but she was eventually outsprinted and finished fourth. Narrowly missing out on an Olympic medal was made all the more frustrating when the silver medalist from the race Tatyana Dorovskikh tested positive for a banned substance the following yea In the 1500 m, she finished only 11th in her semi-final and did not qualify for the final. She finished 1992 by winning the Grand Prix Final for the 5000 m.
1993–1995
1993
In 1993, O'Sullivan established herself as one of the world's top middle-distance runners. By the time the 1993 World Championships in Athletics, World Championships came around, she was the clear favourite for both the 3000 m and 1500 m. However her hopes in the 3000 m were dashed by the performances of three Chinese athletes who would later in the year go on to smash the world record multiple times. The winner, Qu Yunxia, finished in a championship record of 8:28.71, with Zhang Linli and Zhang Lirong following in second and third respectively. A month later Qu would go on to set a 1500 m world record of 3:50.46. O'Sullivan finished the race 4th in a time of 8:33.8. Six days later she won the silver medal in the 1500 m in a time of 4:03.48, again behind a Chinese athlete. Five days after the championships, at the ISTAF meet in Berlin, O'Sullivan recorded the season's best time over 5000 m of 14:45.92, which moved her to third on the all-time world list. Soon afterwards she closed the year by winning the Grand Prix Final for the 3000 m and finished 2nd in the
Mile
The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...
. She finished the Grand Prix season in 2nd place in the Women's Overall competition.
1994
During 1994, O'Sullivan dominated international distance running. She set the fastest time of the year in four events, the 1500 m, 1 mile, 2000 m and 3000 m, and the second fastest time in the 5000 m. On 8 July, at
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, she broke the 2000 m world record, setting a new time of 5:25.36. This record stood until Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia broke it on 7 February 2017. The next week, in London, she broke the European record for the 3000 m, beating Britain's Yvonne Murray, and setting the year's fastest time of 8:21.64. This moved her to fifth on the all-time world list, behind the four Chinese runners who had set their personal bests at the 1993 National Championships in Beijing. This record lasted until 2002, when Gabriela Szabo bettered it. Only three days later, at
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionOslo
Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
, in a time of 4:17.25. This was the season's best, and it moved O'Sullivan to fourth on the all-time world list. All four of these times were also new Irish records, and after this two-week period of record-breaking, O'Sullivan became a clear favourite to win any event she chose to compete in at the
European Athletics Championships
The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletic Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe.
Editions
First held, for me ...
in
Helsinki
Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
in August. At Helsinki, O'Sullivan elected to only contest the 3000 m, with her main opposition expected to come from Yvonne Murray. In the final, on 10 August, Murray set the pace with O'Sullivan on her shoulder. With 200 m to go, O'Sullivan surged past Murray to win easily in 8:31.84. O'Sullivan followed this with a win over 5000 m in the Grand Prix final in Paris on 3 September. She finished the Grand Prix season in 3rd place in the Women's Overall standings. At the end of a long season, on 9 September, the tired O'Sullivan finished only fifth in the 1500 m at the World Cup in London.
1995
O'Sullivan continued to dominate international distance running in 1995. As she had done in 1994, O'Sullivan set the fastest time of the year in four events, the 1500 m, 1 mile, 2000 m and 3000 m, and the second fastest time in the 5000 m. O'Sullivan was the winner of 11 of the 12 races in which she competed over 1500 m or 1 mile in 1995. These victories included the only sub-4-minute 1500 m time recorded during the year, a new Irish record of 3:58.85 set at the Herculis meet in Monaco on 25 July. In the 3000 m, O'Sullivan was clearly in a class above her rivals, winning all five of her races, and producing four of the six fastest times, including the year's fastest time of 8:27.57 at the Weltklasse meet in
Zürich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
on 16 August. Her other 3000 m victories included the Bislett Games in Oslo on 21 July, and the Grand Prix final in Monaco on 9 September. O'Sullivan was left with the dilemma leading up to the World Championships at
Gothenburg
Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
, of whether to compete in the 1500 m or the 5000 m. She had been unbeaten at 5000 m before Gothenburg, although the fastest time of the year, a new world record, had been set by Portugal's Fernanda Ribeiro. In the end, O'Sullivan chose the 5000 m, and, after easily winning her heat on 10 August, she kicked clear of Ribeiro in the final two days later, to win the world title in 14:46.47. Three weeks later, on 1 September, at the ISTAF meeting in Berlin, O'Sullivan again battled over 5000 m with the new world record holder Ribeiro, and again O'Sullivan was victorious, winning in a time of 14:41.40, a new Irish record, and the third fastest 5000 m of all time. For the fourth year in a row, she won the Grand Prix Final, this time over 3000 m.
1996–1997
Although she was not as dominant as she had been in 1994 and 1995, Sonia O'Sullivan continued to be a major force in 1996 at the distances between 1500 m and 5000 m. Her best event in 1996 was the 3000 m, where she was unbeaten for the third successive year, winning all five of her races. O'Sullivan produced the early season leading time of 8:42.40 in Eugene on 26 May, and then at
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionBislett Games in
Oslo
Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
on 5 July. In terms of preparation for the Olympic Games held later that year in Atlanta, O'Sullivan's best event appeared to be the 5000 m, the distance at which she was the reigning world champion. On 5 June, at the Golden Gala meet in Rome, O'Sullivan won in 14:54.75. A month later, on 12 July, at the Securicor Games in London, she beat a strong field to win in 14:48.36. The program at the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
was sufficiently scheduled to allow O'Sullivan to contest both the 5000 m and 1500 m events. Her early season form and world title the previous year had made her one of the favourites for the 5000 m; however, news of double-world record holder Wang Junxia competing made many observers revise their opinion. In the heats everything seemed on track when she easily won her heat in 15:15.80. However, in the final on 28 July, she was badly affected by a stomach upset, and after starting well gradually faded away and failed to finish. The race was won by 3000 and 10,000 m world record holder Wang Junxia of China. Her disappointment continued in the 1500 m, where, still weakened, she came second last in her heat and failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
O'Sullivan competed in her first indoor competition for five years at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics in Paris in March 1997. Prior to that meeting, O'Sullivan had travelled to Australia to get some early season competition in the Australian domestic outdoor season. O'Sullivan recorded her best result in
Canberra
Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
, on 11 January, where she won a 5000 m race in 15:10.98. She had entered both the 1500 m and 3000 m at the World Indoors, but eventually, she chose to only contest the 3000 m event. In the final, on 8 March, O'Sullivan hit the lead in the last lap, but she was overtaken by Romanian Gabriela Szabo who went on to narrowly defeat O'Sullivan in 8:45.75 compared to the Irishwoman's second-place time of 8:46.19. At the World Cross Country Championships, she finished 9th but helped Ireland win the bronze medal in the Team Event. O'Sullivan had an indifferent outdoor season in 1997, and her best time of 8:53.53 over 3000 m, which she achieved in Paris on 25 June, was 7 seconds slower than the time she had set indoors in March. Similarly, her best performance at 5000 m for the year remained the time she had set in Australia in January. At the World Championships held in
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, O'Sullivan produced her best 1500 m time of the year of 4:05.31 when she finished fourth in her semi-final on 3 August. In the final, held two days later, O'Sullivan was never a serious threat, and she finished 8th in 4:07.81. O'Sullivan had even greater disappointment in the 5000 m where she was the defending world champion, finishing only 7th in her heat and failing to qualify for the final.
1998–1999
O'Sullivan made an impressive comeback in 1998. At the World Cross-Country Championships at
Marrakech
Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...
in March, she entered both the short course (4 km) and long course (8 km) events. On successive days, O'Sullivan won both events, and her 4 km time of 12:20 was 14 seconds ahead of her nearest rival. O'Sullivan continued this form into the track season, where her performances in the 1500 m, 3000 m and 5000 m were close to those she had produced at her peak in 1994 and 1995.
At the
European Athletics Championships
The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletic Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe.
Editions
First held, for me ...
in
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
, the 1500 m and 5000 m finals, events at which O'Sullivan usually doubled at major championships, were scheduled to be run on the same day, thus denying her the opportunity of competing in both events. Undeterred, O'Sullivan entered the 5000 m and 10,000 m, having never run the latter event before on the track. In the 10,000 m final, on 19 August, she shadowed the leaders, and then produced an astonishing 28.1 second final 200 metres to win the gold medal in 31:29.33 in her debut at the distance. Four days later, in the more familiar territory of the 5000 m, the pace was set by Romanian Gabriela Szabo, but again, O'Sullivan produced an explosive finishing sprint to defeat Szabo in 15:06.50. At the World Cup held the following month in Johannesburg, O'Sullivan won her second major international 5000 m competition of the year, again sprinting clear of the opposition following a very slow pace. She concluded her year by winning the BUPAGreat North Run.
O'Sullivan took a break from competition for most of 1999, during which time she gave birth to her daughter, Ciara, on 10 July 1999. O'Sullivan returned to training 10 days after her daughter's birth, and on 10 October, finished a half marathon in 70:05.
On 17 October, O'Sullivan won the Bupa Loughrea Run 99, in Loughrea, Co Galway with a world record 5 mi finishing time of 24:27.
2000–2002
With the prospect of competing at her third
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
in September 2000 in Sydney, O'Sullivan competed in the Australian domestic outdoor season during the European winter, recording a fastest time over 5000 m of 15:10.24 at Sydney on 13 February 2000. Back in Europe, she won the Dublin Women's Mini Marathon in June, before producing a number of quality performances on the track in her preparation for the Olympics. The Weltklasse meet in Zürich on 11 August produced the finest 3000 m race of the year, with the first six placings registering the six fastest times of 2000. O'Sullivan finished a close second in this race to Romanian Gabriela Szabo in a time of 8:27.58. At Sydney, on 22 September, O'Sullivan won her 5000 m heat with a season's best of 15:07.91. In the final three days later, after an enthralling sprint finish, O'Sullivan won the silver medal behind Szabo in a National Record 14:41.02. She became only the second Irish woman to win an Olympic Medal, after Michelle Smith and the first Irish
Track and Field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
Olympic Medalist since John Treacy took silver in Los Angeles in 1984. In the 10,000 m final, held on 30 September, O'Sullivan set another personal best and national record when finishing sixth in 30:53.37 performance. Shortly after the Olympics, she won the Grand Prix Final 3000 m. Following the Olympics, O'Sullivan made her marathon debut, winning the Dublin marathon in a time of 2:35:42 on 30 October.
In March 2001, O'Sullivan decided to compete in the World Indoor Championships. She finished 7th in the 3000 m and 9th in the 1500 m. After this she took a break from athletics to give birth to her second daughter, Sophie.
O'Sullivan returned in March 2002 for the World Cross Country Championships, being held in Dublin. She finished a respectable 7th in the Short Race, and led Ireland to Team Bronze. At the European Championships in Munich later that year, O'Sullivan attempted a defence of the two European golds she had won in 1998. In the 10,000 m she won silver in a national record of 30:47.59. O'Sullivan admitted she had been outclassed in the race by Paula Radcliffe, saying that only world record holder Wang Junxia could have beaten the British girl on the night. A few days later, O'Sullivan added a second silver in the 5000 m as she was beaten into second place by Marta Dominguez of Spain in a time of 15:14.85. Shortly afterwards she set a season's best for the 3000 m in Zürich as she finished third in a time of 8:33.62. A week later, she ran her fastest 5000 m time since her Olympic silver in London in a time of 14:46.97, as she finished third. She ended an excellent season by winning her second BUPAGreat North Run title in a national record time of 67:19.
2003–2009
After an impressive 2002 season, O'Sullivan had a disappointing 2003. She started well with a win at the newly inaugurated Great Ireland Run, but she struggled during the summer Grand Prix races. However, she appeared to be finding her form at the right time when she ran a season's best in the 3000 m in
Zürich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
in a time of 8:37.55 on 15 August. At the World Championships in Paris later that month she was considered a possible medalist. She qualified very comfortably from her heat. However, in the final, she finished last of the 15 starters. In December she finished an impressive fourth at the European Cross-Country Championships and led Ireland to silver in the team event.
2004 was to be an even more disappointing season for O'Sullivan. She struggled to find her best form throughout the year. At the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
in
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, she qualified for the final of the 5000 m. However, in the final, O'Sullivan, who was suffering from an illness, finished last of the 14 finishers, well over a lap behind the winner Meseret Defar. She was given a hero's reception by the crowd as she completed her last lap. It was one of the more poignant moments of the 2004 Games. In November, O'Sullivan finished an impressive 4th in the World Half-Marathon Championship in
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
.
In April 2005, O'Sullivan ran the London Marathon for the first time and finished 8th in a personal best time of 2:29:01. In June she won Dublin's Women's Mini Marathon for the second time. However, an injury kept her out of the 2005 World Championships in
Helsinki
Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
.
In January 2006, O'Sullivan applied for dual citizenship, which would allow her to compete for both Ireland and Australia. This request was granted and she intended to represent Australia at the
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...
in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, but to represent Ireland in all other competitions. She was chosen for the Australian Commonwealth Games team for the 5000 m. However, she wasn't able to compete due to a hamstring injury.
On 14 February 2007, O'Sullivan said she planned to retire after the Great Ireland Run on 15 April, having said the previous year that she planned to run competitively until the 2012 Olympics in London. She later confirmed that she would retire at the end of the 2007 season.
In March 2008, O'Sullivan was appointed team manager of the Australian team for the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, Scotland. In 2009, she ran the Cork City Marathon,
2010–present
In 2012, O'Sullivan carried the Olympic flame when it arrived in Dublin on 6 June. She carried the flame onto St Stephen's Green and lit an Olympic cauldron. O'Sullivan was made ''chef de mission'' for Team Ireland at the 2012 Olympic Games.
O'Sullivan completed the 2013 Ealing Half Marathon in 1:27:28.
Personal life
Sonia's father John played as a goalkeeper for Cobh Ramblers football team. He had been in the Irish Navy.
Sonia is married to Nic Bideau and lives in Melbourne, Australia, together they have two daughters, Ciara, and Sophie. Sophie won a silver medal in the 800 metres at the 2018 European Athletics U18 Championships in
Győr
Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...
, Hungary, 1500 metres gold at the 2023 European Athletics U23 Championships in Espoo, Finland., and 1500 metres gold at the 2024 Irish National Athletics Championships. Sonia has written two books "Running To Stand Still" published in 2001 and "Sonia My Story" in 2008. Sonia frequently commentates for RTÉ during World & European Championship Athletics. Sonia's mother Mary died in 2023.
Personal bests
* 800 metres – 2:00.69 (July 1987)
* 1000 metres – 2:34:66 (July 1993)
* 1500 metres – 3:58.85 (July 1995)
* Mile run – 4:17.25 NR (July 1994)
* 2000 metres – 5:25.36 NR (WR 1994–2017) (July 1994)
* 3000 metres – 8:21.64 NR (ER 1994–2002) (July 1994)
* 2 miles – 9:19.56 NR (WR 1998–2007) (June 1998)
* 5000 metres – 14:41.02 NR (September 2000)
* 10,000 metres – 30:47.59 NR (August 2002)
* 10 miles road – 51:00.00 WB (8 September 2002)
* Half marathon – 67:19 (October 2002)
* Marathon – 2:29:01 (April 2005)