Sonia O'Sullivan
Sonia O'Sullivan (born November 28, 1969 in Cobh ) is an Irish long-distance runner and Olympic runner-up .
She first achieved international fame in the middle distance when she won silver in the 1500 meter run at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart . At the end of the season she won the Course de l'Escalade . It was also very successful on long-haul rail routes early on. At the European Championships in Helsinki in 1994 ( 3000 meters ) and at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg ( 5000 meters ), she won the gold medal. She was then voted Europe's athlete of the year .
Further highlights in her sporting career were the 1997 World Indoor Championships in Paris , where she finished 2nd over 3000 meters, the title at the 1998 Cross Country World Championships , the 1998 European Championships in Budapest with gold in the 5000 and 10,000 meter Run as well as the European Championships 2002 in Munich with two silver medals over 5000 and 10,000 meters.
She achieved an Olympic silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney over 5000 meters in her best time of 14: 41.02 minutes behind Romanian Gabriela Szabo and ahead of Ethiopian Gete Wami . Also in Sydney she was sixth over 10,000 meters. At the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 , she finished 14th over 5000 meters.
In the last few years of her career, she has also been successful in road running . In 1998 and 2002 she won the Great North Run . In 2000 she won the Avon Running Championship in Milan and stayed with 30:59 minutes over 10 kilometers as the fourth woman ever on an asphalt track under 31 minutes. In autumn, she was the last local to win the Dublin Marathon .
After having to pause most of the season in 2001, she set a course record at the Great South Run in 2002 , came in 14th at the World Half Marathon Championships in Brussels and was eleventh at the New York City Marathon . In 2003 she won the premiere of the Great Ireland Run and defended her title at the Great South Run.
In 2004 she won the Great Manchester Run and came fourth at the World Half Marathon Championships in New Delhi . At London Marathon 2005, she was eighth.
Since her injuries began to bother her more and more, she announced that she would be leaving competitive sports at the end of 2007.
Sonia O'Sullivan has also been a national of her adopted country of Australia since 2006 , where she lives with her husband and manager Nick Bideau, the discoverer and former partner of Cathy Freeman , and their two daughters.
Personal bests
- 800 m : 2: 00.69 min, July 28, 1994, Saint Petersburg
- 1000 m : 2: 34.66 min, July 2, 1993, Villeneuve-d'Ascq
- 1500 m: 3: 58.85 min, July 25, 1995, Monaco
- Hall: 4: 11.27 min, March 10, 2001, Lisbon
- 1 mile : 4: 17.25 min, July 22, 1994, Oslo
- 2000 m : 5: 25.36 min, July 8th 1994, Edinburgh
- 3000 m: 8: 21.64 min, July 15, 1994, London
- Hall: 8: 44.37 min, March 10, 2001, Lisbon
- 5000 m: 14: 41.02 min, September 25, 2000, Sydney
- Hall: 15: 17.28 min, January 26, 1991, Boston
- 10,000 m: 30: 47.59 min, August 6, 2002, Munich
- 10 km road race: 30:59 min, May 21, 2000, Milan
- Half marathon : 1:10:04 h, May 5, 2002, Brussels
- Marathon : 2:29:01 h, April 17, 2005, London
Web links
- Sonia O'Sullivan in the database of World Athletics (English)
- Athlete portrait on marathoninfo.free.fr
Footnotes
- ↑ Christian Fuchs: Jessica Ennis is Europe's Athlete of the Year , www.leichtathletik.de October 4, 2012
- ↑ Runner's World : Farewell on installments . April 18, 2007
- ↑ BreakingNews.ie: Sonia to receive Australian papers . January 25, 2006
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | O'Sullivan, Sonia |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Irish long distance runner |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 28, 1969 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cobh |