O'Sullivan, Sonia (1969– )

Irish middle- and long-distance runner equally strong on the track or in cross-country. She came to the fore in 1992 when she won the 1,500-metre world title at the World Student Games. The following year she was second in the 1,500 metres at the World Championships. In 1994 she won the European 3,000-metre title. Stepping up to 5,000 metres, she took the gold medal at the 1995 World Championships. Affected by illness she under-performed at the 1996 Olympic Games; however, in 1998 she won both the short- and long-distance events at the World Cross-Country Championships in Marrakesh, Morocco, and then, at the European Championships in Budapest, Hungary, she won golds at 5,000 and 10,000 metres. Her first Olympic medal came in 2000, winning silver in the 5,000 metres and breaking her own Irish record with a time of 14:41:02.

Career highlights

Olympic Games silver 5,000 metres 2000

World Championships gold 5,000 metres 1995; silver 1,500 metres 1993

European Championships gold 3,000 metres 1994; gold 5,000 metres 1998; gold 10,000 metres 1998

World Indoor Games silver 3,000 metres 1997

World Cross-Country Championships gold short-distance 1998; gold long-distance 1998