NEW IRELAND’S
WORLD Champion Sonia O’sullivan has opened up on the toll athletics took on her body, revealing how yoga and pilates help keep her in balance.
Her Olympic silver medal in 2000 capped a string of wins for the star including three World Championship medals, three European Championship medals and four world records.
Cobh legend Sonia, 53, told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “When you’re training really hard, that’s all you’re focused on.
“You don’t really think about the consequences later on or what that might lead to. There’s definitely wear and tear on your body.
“As you get older you just have to learn how to manage that. You always want to keep active and do as much as you can for as long as you can.
“But you have to adapt all the time, and do what gives you enough satisfaction in your day.
“I think that’s where things like yoga and pilates creep in, what you would once thought of as being very slow and gentle activities.
“You realise that they’re actually pretty beneficial.”
At the pinnacle of her track career Sonia bagged a gold medal at the 1995 World Championships and a silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games for the 5000 metres.
Her first major international competition was in the 1990 European Championships at Split in Croatia.
She retired from the sport in 2007 – insisting she now has no regrets over missing out on Olympic gold at the Sydney Olympics where she took silver.
Sonia said: “At this stage no... sometimes if I’m at an event and people replay it [the race] again, you’re kind of surprised at how close it was every time.
“I do sometimes think if I was to run the race again, I’d probably get a different result. When you run these races, you have to make these split second decisions.
“And once you make a decision, there’s no going back.”
She insisted she gave it her all, adding: “In some ways, I think I probably went a little bit early in that race.
“I think at the end of the day, you have to accept the result that you get. I would rather be second than fourth. I gave it everything I had at the time. I always felt
When I was growing up, running was only thing for girls but now there are many opportunities
when I crossed the finish line, I had to think about it for a few seconds and you appreciate what you have achieved as much as you’re disappointed not to have won.
“You’re happy that you’ve actually got a medal to bring home.”
She met her track and field coach hubby Nic Bideau in 1996 and they have two daughters, Ciara and Sophie.
As assistant coach at Union Athletics Club in Portland, Oregon, Sonia divides her time between the States, Melbourne and Ireland.
Of moving between countries she said: “It’s definitely a transition period every time and you question yourself. Then you