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Following her spectacular comeback in the international athletics arena
in 1998, which included winning both the 5000m and 10000m 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. Sonia 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 70min 05sec. 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 at Sydney. O'Sullivan competed in the
Australian domestic outdoor season during the European winter, recording
a fastest time over 5000m of 15min 10.24sec 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 3000m 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 Rumanian Gabriela
Szabo in a time of 8min 27.58sec. At Sydney, on 22 September, Sonia
produced the fastest time in the heats of the 5000m (see photo above),
with a season's best of 15min 07.91sec. In the final three days later,
O'Sullivan won the silver medal behind Szabo in a sensational 14min
41.02sec, which bettered the Irish national record she had set in 1995.
In the 10000m final, held on 30 September, Sonia set another personal
best and national record when she finished 6th, in an extremely fast
race, in 30min 53.37sec. Following the Olympics, O'Sullivan made her
marathon debut, winning the Dublin marathon in a time of 2hr 30min 40sec
on 30 October. (Ron Casey)
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