Sonia O'Sullivan
Encyclopedia
Sonia O'Sullivan (born 28 November 1969) in Cobh
, County Cork
. She began her running career in Ballymore Running Club which is located in the eastern side of Cobh Town. She was one of the world's leading female 5000 m runners for most of the 1990s and early first decade of the 21st century. Her crowning achievement was a gold medal in the 5000 m at the 1995 World Athletics Championships
. She won silver medals in the 5000 m at the 2000 Olympic Games and in the 1500 m at the 1993 World Championships
. She has also won three European Championship
gold medals and two World Cross-Country Championship
gold medals.
On 14 February 2007, the multi-medallist said she planned to hang up her spikes after the Great Ireland Run on 15 April, having said the previous year that she intended to run competitively until the 2012 Olympic Games in London. O'Sullivan later dismissed the rumours that she is retiring after the BUPA
Great Ireland Run
, adding that she would be retiring at the end of the 2007 season.
She is known for her dramatic kick at the end of races, clocking 28 second final 200m splits in some of her races.
in the USA, 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. 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
Olympic Games
. 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 year.http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20000827/ai_n14331886 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.
, 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 the current 1500m 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. She finished the Grand Prix season in 2nd place in the Woman's Overall competition.
, she broke the 2000 m world record, setting a new time of 5:25.36. This record still stands today. 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
, O'Sullivan recorded the year's fastest 1500 m, a personal best, of 3:59.10, and only four days after that, she won the mile at the Bislett Games in Oslo
, 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 in Helsinki
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 Woman'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.
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 Zurich
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
, 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.
on 26 May, and then at Nice
, on 10 July, she recorded the year's fastest time of 8:35.42. In the 1500 m, only two women broke 4 minutes during the year, one of whom was O'Sullivan, who clocked her best time of 3:59.91 when winning at the Bislett Games
in Oslo
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
in Atlanta 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 final.
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
, 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. Compared with the magnificent performances that she had produced in previous years, 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
, 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.
in March. O'Sullivan entered both the short course (4 km) and long course (8 km) events, a double which few athletes even attempt, much less have any success at. On successive days, O'Sullivan won both events, and her 4 km time of 12:20 was a massive 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 in Budapest
, 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 10000 m, having never run the latter event before on the track. In the 10000 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 BUPA
Great North Run
.
. However, it didn't take her long to return to the track, with the prospect of competing at her third Olympic Games
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 produced a number of quality performances in her preparation for the Olympics. The Weltklasse meet in Zurich
on 11 August produced the finest 3000 m race of the year, with the first six placings respectively registering the six fastest times in 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, and after an entralling sprint finsh, O'Sullivan would win 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
Olympic Medalist since John Treacy
took Silver in Los Angeles in 1984. In the 10000 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 5000 m. Following the Olympics, O'Sullivan made her marathon
debut, winning the Dublin marathon in a time of 2:35:42 on 30 October.
who narrowly missed becoming the second woman to break 30 minutes in a European Record performance of 30:01.09. O'Sullivan admitted she had been outclassed in the race, saying that only world record
holder Wang Junxia
could have beaten her on the night. A few days later, O'Sullivan added a second silver in the 5000m 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 Zurich
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 BUPA
Great North Run
title in a National Record time of 67:19.
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 Zurich
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 lead Ireland to silver in the team event.
in Athens
, 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
.
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
.
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
in Melbourne
, but to represent Ireland in all other competitions. She was chosen for the Australian Commonwealth team for the 5000 m. However she wasn't able to compete due to a hamstring injury.
in Edinburgh
, Scotland.
.
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Cobh
Cobh is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour. Facing the town are Spike Island and Haulbowline Island...
, County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
. She began her running career in Ballymore Running Club which is located in the eastern side of Cobh Town. She was one of the world's leading female 5000 m runners for most of the 1990s and early first decade of the 21st century. Her crowning achievement was a gold medal in the 5000 m at the 1995 World Athletics Championships
1995 World Championships in Athletics
The 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden between August 5 and August 13.This edition featured 1804 athletes from 191 nations....
. She won silver medals in the 5000 m at the 2000 Olympic Games and in the 1500 m at the 1993 World Championships
1993 World Championships in Athletics
The 4th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium, Stuttgart, Germany between August 13 and August 22 with the participation of 187 nations....
. She has also won three European Championship
European Championships in Athletics
The European Athletics Championships is an event organized by the European Athletic Association. It is organised every four years, the same year as the Commonwealth Games and between the Summer Olympic Games cycle. After the 2010 Championships in Barcelona, the European Championships will take...
gold medals and two World Cross-Country Championship
IAAF World Cross Country Championships
IAAF World Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Held annually and organised by International Association of Athletics Federations , it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the International Cross Country Championships...
gold medals.
On 14 February 2007, the multi-medallist said she planned to hang up her spikes after the Great Ireland Run on 15 April, having said the previous year that she intended to run competitively until the 2012 Olympic Games in London. O'Sullivan later dismissed the rumours that she is retiring after the BUPA
Bupa
Bupa is a large British healthcare organisation, with bases on three continents and more than ten million customers in over 200 countries. It is a private healthcare company, in direct contrast to the UK's National Health Services, which are tax-funded healthcare systems and do not require private...
Great Ireland Run
Great Ireland Run
The Great Ireland Run is an annual 10-kilometre road running competition which is held in Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland in mid-April. It is part of the Great Run series of athletics competitions and it also holds IAAF Bronze Label Road Race status...
, adding that she would be retiring at the end of the 2007 season.
She is known for her dramatic kick at the end of races, clocking 28 second final 200m splits in some of her races.
Early years
Sonia O'Sullivan's first major international competition was the 1990 European Championships at Split, where she finished 11th in the 3000 m. However, O'Sullivan improved quickly after that, and on 26 January the following year, at Boston, 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 the Villanova UniversityVillanova University
Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
in the USA, and at the World Student Games at Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
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. 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
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. 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 year.http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20000827/ai_n14331886 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
During 1993, O'Sullivan established herself as one of the world's top middle distance runners. By the time the 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 YunxiaQu Yunxia
Qu Yunxia is a Chinese Olympic athlete who specialized in the 1500 metres.At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona she won a bronze medal on 1500 m. In 1993 she achieved the still standing world record in the 1500 metres at 3:50.46 minutes while running in the National Games of the People's...
, finished in a championship record of 8:28.71, with Zhang Linli
Zhang Linli
Zhang Linli is a retired Chinese long-distance runner who set world class times in events ranging from 1500m up to the Marathon. She broke the world record in the woman's 3000 metres on September 12, 1993.-Achievements:-Personal bests:...
and Zhang Lirong
Zhang Lirong
Zhang Lirong is a retired Chinese runner. A dynamic middle and long distance runner, she set world class times in events ranging from the 1500m all the way up the marathon. She won the bronze medal in the 3000 m at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart.-Achievements:-Personal bests:-External...
following in second and third respectively. A month later Qu would go on to set the current 1500m world record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
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. She finished the Grand Prix season in 2nd place in the Woman's Overall competition.
1994
During 1994, Sonia O'Sullivan totally dominated the international distance running scene. 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 EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, she broke the 2000 m world record, setting a new time of 5:25.36. This record still stands today. The next week, in London, she broke the European record for the 3000 m, beating Britain's Yvonne Murray
Yvonne Murray
Yvonne Murray MBE , is a Scottish former middle-distance and long-distance track and road-running athlete. She won a bronze medal in the 3000 metres at the 1988 Olympic Games, and gold medals at this distance at the 1993 World Indoor Championships and the 1990 European Championships...
, 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
Gabriela Szabo
Gabriela Szabo is a Romanian track and field athlete, winner of the gold medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics in 5000 m and winner of bronze and silver medals in 1996 Summer Olympics and 2000 Summer Olympics in 1500 m, respectively....
bettered it. Only three days later, at Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, O'Sullivan recorded the year's fastest 1500 m, a personal best, of 3:59.10, and only four days after that, she won the mile at the Bislett Games in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, 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 in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
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 Woman'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
As she did in 1994, Sonia O'Sullivan completely dominated the international distance running scene during 1995. Coincidentally, 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 during 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 MonacoMonaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
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 Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
on 16 August. Her other 3000 m victories included the Bislett Games in Oslo on 21 July, and the Grand Prix final in Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
on 9 September. O'Sullivan was left with the dilemma leading up to the World Championships at Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, 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
Fernanda Ribeiro
Maria Fernanda Moreira Ribeiro, GCIH , is a long-distance runner, born in Penafiel, Portugal. She achieved the top of her career in the 1996 Summer Olympics where she won the women's 10,000 m gold medal, giving Portugal their 3rd Olympic gold , and establishing a new Olympic record - 31:01.63.-...
. 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
Although she was not as dominant as she had been in 1994 and 1995, Sonia O'Sullivan continued to be the major force to be reckoned with during 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 EugeneEugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
on 26 May, and then at Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, on 10 July, she recorded the year's fastest time of 8:35.42. In the 1500 m, only two women broke 4 minutes during the year, one of whom was O'Sullivan, who clocked her best time of 3:59.91 when winning at the Bislett Games
Bislett Games
The Bislett Games is an annual track and field event at the Bislett Stadion in Oslo, Norway. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the IAAF Diamond League. It is sponsored by ExxonMobil and officially known as the ExxonMobil Bislett Games.-History:The first...
in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
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
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
in Atlanta 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
Wang Junxia
Wang Junxia is a Chinese former long-distance runner.-Career:Wang was coached by Ma Junren until 1995 and by Mao Dezhen from 1995 to her retirement after the 1996 Atlanta Olympics....
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
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
holder Wang Junxia
Wang Junxia
Wang Junxia is a Chinese former long-distance runner.-Career:Wang was coached by Ma Junren until 1995 and by Mao Dezhen from 1995 to her retirement after the 1996 Atlanta Olympics....
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 final.
1997
Keen to quickly atone for her disappointing performances at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, Sonia O'Sullivan competed in her first indoor competition for five years at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in AthleticsIAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics
The International Association of Athletics Federations World Indoor Championships were inaugurated as the World Indoor Games in 1985 in Paris, France and were subsequently renamed in 1987 as they are known today.-History:...
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
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, 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
Gabriela Szabo
Gabriela Szabo is a Romanian track and field athlete, winner of the gold medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics in 5000 m and winner of bronze and silver medals in 1996 Summer Olympics and 2000 Summer Olympics in 1500 m, respectively....
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. Compared with the magnificent performances that she had produced in previous years, 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
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, 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
After her disappointing performances at the 1996 Olympic Games, and her relatively poor season in 1997, few would have predicted the remarkable comeback that Sonia O'Sullivan made in 1998. Her year got off to an amazing start at the World Cross-Country Championships at MarrakechMarrakech
Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...
in March. O'Sullivan entered both the short course (4 km) and long course (8 km) events, a double which few athletes even attempt, much less have any success at. On successive days, O'Sullivan won both events, and her 4 km time of 12:20 was a massive 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 in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, 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 10000 m, having never run the latter event before on the track. In the 10000 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
Gabriela Szabo
Gabriela Szabo is a Romanian track and field athlete, winner of the gold medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics in 5000 m and winner of bronze and silver medals in 1996 Summer Olympics and 2000 Summer Olympics in 1500 m, respectively....
, 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 BUPA
Bupa
Bupa is a large British healthcare organisation, with bases on three continents and more than ten million customers in over 200 countries. It is a private healthcare company, in direct contrast to the UK's National Health Services, which are tax-funded healthcare systems and do not require private...
Great North Run
Great North Run
The Bupa Great North Run is the world's largest half marathon, taking place annually each September. Participants run between Newcastle upon Tyne and South Shields in England. The run was devised by former Olympic 10,000 m bronze medallist and BBC Sport commentator Brendan Foster.The first Great...
.
2000 (Sydney)
Following her spectacular comeback in the international athletics arena in 1998, which included winning both the 5000 m and 10000 m at the European Championships, Sonia 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, showed she was back in form by finishing a half marathon in 70:05. In June she continued this road form, winning Dublin's Women's Mini MarathonDublin Women's Mini Marathon
The Dublin Women's Mini Marathon is an annual charity road race that occurs each June bank holiday Monday in Ireland...
. However, it didn't take her long to return to the track, with the prospect of competing at her third Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
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 produced a number of quality performances in her preparation for the Olympics. The Weltklasse meet in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
on 11 August produced the finest 3000 m race of the year, with the first six placings respectively registering the six fastest times in 2000. O'Sullivan finished a close second in this race to Romanian Gabriela Szabo
Gabriela Szabo
Gabriela Szabo is a Romanian track and field athlete, winner of the gold medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics in 5000 m and winner of bronze and silver medals in 1996 Summer Olympics and 2000 Summer Olympics in 1500 m, respectively....
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, and after an entralling sprint finsh, O'Sullivan would win 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
Michelle Smith
Michelle Smith is a retired Irish swimmer and practising Irish barrister. She was a triple gold medallist at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, for the 400 m individual medley, 400 m freestyle and 200 m individual medley...
and the first Irish Track and Field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
Olympic Medalist since John Treacy
John Treacy
John Treacy is a former Irish athlete and Olympic medalist, who represented Ireland at four Olympic Games between 1980 and 1992.- Career :...
took Silver in Los Angeles in 1984. In the 10000 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 5000 m. Following the Olympics, O'Sullivan made her marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
debut, winning the Dublin marathon in a time of 2:35:42 on 30 October.
2001 & 2002
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. She returned in March 2002 for the World Cross Country Championships, being held in Dublin. She finished a very 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 defense of her two European Golds she won in 1998. In the 10000 m she won silver in a National Record of 30:47.59. Despite this, she finished a full 46 seconds behind winner Paula RadcliffePaula Radcliffe
Paula Jane Radcliffe, MBE is an English long-distance runner. She is the current women's world record holder in the marathon with her time of 2:15:25 hours...
who narrowly missed becoming the second woman to break 30 minutes in a European Record performance of 30:01.09. O'Sullivan admitted she had been outclassed in the race, saying that only world record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
holder Wang Junxia
Wang Junxia
Wang Junxia is a Chinese former long-distance runner.-Career:Wang was coached by Ma Junren until 1995 and by Mao Dezhen from 1995 to her retirement after the 1996 Atlanta Olympics....
could have beaten her on the night. A few days later, O'Sullivan added a second silver in the 5000m as she was beaten into second place by Marta Dominguez
Marta Domínguez
Marta Domínguez Azpeleta is a Spanish runner. She was accused of drug dealing and but later acquitted .Dominguez currently competes mainly in 3000 m steeplechase, a distance in which she was the 2009 world champion...
of Spain in a time of 15:14.85. Shortly afterwards she set a season's best for the 3000 m in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
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 BUPA
Bupa
Bupa is a large British healthcare organisation, with bases on three continents and more than ten million customers in over 200 countries. It is a private healthcare company, in direct contrast to the UK's National Health Services, which are tax-funded healthcare systems and do not require private...
Great North Run
Great North Run
The Bupa Great North Run is the world's largest half marathon, taking place annually each September. Participants run between Newcastle upon Tyne and South Shields in England. The run was devised by former Olympic 10,000 m bronze medallist and BBC Sport commentator Brendan Foster.The first Great...
title in a National Record time of 67:19.
2003
After an impressive 2002 season, O'Sullivan had a disappointing 2003. She started well with a win at the newly inaugurated Great Ireland Run
Great Ireland Run
The Great Ireland Run is an annual 10-kilometre road running competition which is held in Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland in mid-April. It is part of the Great Run series of athletics competitions and it also holds IAAF Bronze Label Road Race status...
, 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 Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
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 lead Ireland to silver in the team event.
2004
2004 was to be an even more disappointing season for Sonia O'Sullivan. She struggled to find her best form throughout the year. At the Olympic GamesOlympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, 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
Meseret Defar
Meseret Defar is a female long-distance runner from Ethiopia who competes chiefly in the 3000 metres and 5000 metres events. She has won medals at top-tier international competitions including Olympic and World Championship gold medals over 5000 metres...
. 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
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
.
2005
In April 2005, O'Sullivan ran the London Marathon
London Marathon
The London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...
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
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
.
2006
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
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, but to represent Ireland in all other competitions. She was chosen for the Australian Commonwealth team for the 5000 m. However she wasn't able to compete due to a hamstring injury.
2008
In March 2008, O'Sullivan was appointed team manager of the Australian team for the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 36th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held in the Holyrood Park at Edinburgh, Scotland on 30 March 2008. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races encompassed both individual and team competition...
in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland.
2009
O'Sullivan ran in the Cork City Marathon, she is expected to run in the Dublin Women's Mini-Marathon and the Dublin MarathonDublin Marathon
The Dublin Marathon is an annual marathon in Dublin, Ireland, normally held on the last Monday in October, which is a public holiday in Ireland. Held each year since 1980, in 2007 there were about 11,000 race participants, half of whom were from overseas....
.
Performances at major championships
1988- World Junior Championships: 3000 m - Heats
1990
- European Championships: 3000 m - 11th
1991
- World Student Games: 1500 m - GOLD
; 3000 m - SILVER 
1992
- World Cross-Country Championships: 7th
- Olympic Games: 3000 m - 4th; 1500 m - Semi-Finals
1993
- World Championships: 3000 m - 4th; 1500 m - SILVER
1994
- European Championships: 3000 m - GOLD
1995
- World Championships: 5000 m - GOLD
1996
- Olympic Games: 5000 m - DNF in Final; 1500 m - Heats
1997
- World Indoor Championships: 3000 m - SILVER
- World Cross-Country Championships - 9th;
- World Championships: 1500 m - 8th; 5000 m - Heats
1998
- World Cross-Country Championships: Long Race - GOLD ; Short Race - GOLD
- European Championships: 10000 m - GOLD ; 5000 m - GOLD
2000
- World Cross-Country Championships: Long Race - 7th; Short Race - 15th
- Olympic Games: 5000 m - SILVER ; 10000 m - 6th
2001
- World Indoor Championships: 3000 m - 7th; 1500 m - 9th
- World Cross-Country Championships: Short Race - DNF
2002
- World Cross-Country Championships: Short Race - 7th
- World Half Marathon Championships: 14th
- European Championships: 10000 m - SILVER ; 5000 m - SILVER
2003
- World Championships: 5000 m - 15th
- European Cross-Country Championships: 4th
2004
- Olympic Games: 5000 m - 14th
- World Half Marathon Championships: 4th
Personal bests
- 800 m - 2:00.69 NR (July 1994)
- 1000 m - 2:34.66 NR (July 1993)
- 1500 m - 3:58.85 NR (July 1995)
- Mile runMile runThe mile run is a middle-distance foot race which is among the more popular events in track running.The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races...
- 4:17.25 NR (July 1994)
- 2000 m - 5:25.36 WR (July 1994)
- 3000 m - 8:21.64 NR (ER 1994-2002) (July 1994)
- 2 MilesTwo milesThe 2 mile is a historic running distance. Like the mile run, it is still contested at some invitational meets, perhaps because it provides an easier record to break for meet promoters , as well as its historical chronology. It is largely superseded by the 3000 m and 5000 m, and by the 3200m in...
- 9:19:56 WR (June 1998)
- 5000 m - 14:41.02 NR (September 2000)
- 10,000 m - 30:47.59 NR (August 2002)
- Half marathonHalf marathonA half marathon is a road running event of . It is half the distance of a marathon and usually run on roads. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily recently. One of the main reasons for this is that it is a challenging distance, but does not require the same level of training that a...
- 67:19 NR (October 2002)
- MarathonMarathonThe marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
- 2:29:01 (April 2005)