Sonia O'Sullivan at 50
It is not before time that Sonia O’Sullivan was inducted into the Irish Athletics Hall of Fame. She has been one of our greatest athletes ever.
Since the early 1990s, she has thrilled excited and amazed us with her grit, determination and feats of extraordinary athleticism.
By 1992 the girl from Cobh, Co Cork, had already won numerous national school championships, a Villanova university scholarship and gained a fourth place in the 3,000 metres event in the Barcelona Olympics.
In 1994 Sonia broke the 2,000-metre world record at Edinburgh, knocking more than three seconds off it. A year later, she won gold in the 5000m at the World Athletics Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Her tally of success is hugely impressive: six major athletics championship medals, including World and European 5,000m gold, European 10,000m gold, two World Cross Country gold and the silver medal over 5,000m at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Through it all, she has done herself, her county and her country, proud.
