Sonia puts actor through her paces on life story

OLYMPIC silver medallist Sonia O’Sullivan and actor Cora Fenton replicated the runner’s victory pose captured in a statue of the track and field great as they prepare for a new play celebrating Cobh’s most famous athlete.

The pair posed in front of local sculptor James McLoughlin’s life-size bronze statue of Ireland’s most famous runner gracing Cobh’s Kennedy Quay.

Ms Fenton is currently preparing for her role as O’Sullivan in the upcoming play ‘Sonia’, based on the life of the Olympic and world champion athlete.

The Limerick native, who holds a degree in sports science, is well cast for the part which promises “dramatic visuals and an intense physical performance throughout”.

The play is written by writer and director John Sheehy who, along with Ms Fenton, co-founded CallBack Theatre in 2001.

O’Sullivan also contributed to the play that recounts her experiences “through the highs and lows of the highly competitive and unforgiving world of athletics”.

It delves into her quest “to run the perfect race” and examines the sacrifices she made along the way.

She became a household name after winning a gold medal in the 5,000-metre race at the 1995 World Athletics Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden.

She also took home a silver medal in the 5,000-metre race at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney before finishing last at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. The play premières on September 24 at Friars’ Gate Theatre in Limerick.