Sonia finally gets her medal

Sonia O'sullivan finally won a medal of sorts when she finished second in the 5000m at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.  In doing so she became only the second Irish woman to win an Olympic medal, Michelle Smith being the other.  It was also Irelands first track and field medal at the Olympics since 1984.

It was a long and hard journey towards this moment for the girl from Cobh, having led into the home straight in the 1500m in Barcelona and finishing up in fourth place.  Then came the disappointment in Atlanta 1996 when a stomach complaint affected her performance in the 5000m final when she failed to finish the race and subsequent 1500m heat, in which she finished second to last.

All these Olympic tales of woe were put behind her when in the 5000m final in Sydney she raced home in a national record time of 14.41.02.  A well deserved achievement from one of Irelands greatest track and field athletes.