Sonia O'Sullivan

mike65 · 23-08-2004 10:33pm #1

It was even worse than I expected, lapped and two mins beind the leaders as she crosed the finnishing line clearly upset and saying goodbye to I suspect all track competition not just the Olympics.

Mike.

uberwolf · 23-08-2004 10:42pm

sad to hear it. No way to go.

Johnny_the_fox · 23-08-2004 10:51pm

Legend.

at least she didnt give up...

Flukey · 24-08-2004 10:21pm

It was sad to see it, but overall she has done an awful lot and has a lot to be proud of. There is a lot to remember in terms of the good days. There will some ahead, if not on the track certainly in other disciplines. She is not finished yet.

The Rooster · 26-08-2004 10:40am

Flukey wrote:

She is not finished yet.

I know she was slow in that final, but surely she's finished by now?

ecksor · 26-08-2004 10:46am

We'll have to wait and see. It's up to her really.

redspider · 26-08-2004 11:12am

Sonia should retire now or change her training to suit her capabilities. One thnig is for sure, she wont stop running.

Her time in the semi-final was much better and shows that there was something amiss for the final race. Her semi-final time would have gotten her about 5th in the final which is highly commendable.

Also, the final race was strange in a number of other ways. The world record holder (Abeygelesse ?) went out for a fast few laps and stretched the field but completely blew her race and finished in a very slow time. She got her tactics all wrong. It would be interesting to see the split times for all the atheletes in that race, it was a most unusual final.

The Rooster · 26-08-2004 1:18pm

Problem with Sonia is she cant do finals. Her head gets messed up and tells her that her body cant keep up. George Hamilton was talking some bullsh!t before her race, saying how relaxed she was and up for giving it one last go. Then just before the start it pans across each of the athletes and finally reaches Sonia, and I've never seen nerves so clearly etched across anyone's face. It was scary.

Remember it was long before Abeygelesse got to the front that Sonia was dropped. The Chinese went to the front on the second lap, injected a bit of pace but nothing extraordinary, and straight away Sonia was gone. And yet she had proven in the semis and for most of the season that she was well able to go with such average pace.

Put her in a race any day of a week against Jo Pavey and Sonia'd beat her. Unless its a final, then Sonia would be nowhere.

Its time for her to retire, and thank her for all her great memories. For a couple of years she wasnt just the best in the world, she was the best by miles. The best Irish athlete ever.

ecksor · 26-08-2004 1:28pm

If she can't do finals then how come she's won all the championships she has?

Her head gets messed up and tells her that her body cant keep up.

How did you figure that out?

The Rooster · 26-08-2004 2:27pm

Obviously I'm not taking about the finals she's won when she was at her best!

<shrug>

Although she didnt win as many races as she should have at world and olympic level as she should have or as she deserved. The undoubted highlight being the unforgettable 1995 World Championship Gold Medal. She would have been double world champion in 1993 but for those pesky Chinese.

But I'm talking about recent years. Take for example the 5000m world championships in 2003, when Sonia was in a lot better form than she is now.

Sonia comfortably qualified for the final - finishing 2nd in her heat.

Then comes the final and she trails in last, an embarrassing 45 seconds behind the winner - and 40 seconds slower than she ran in the semi. The top 10 all finished within 7 seconds of the winner, and 5 of those top ten had finsihed behind Sonia in the semi.

So that leads me to my view that Sonia can no longer do finals.

The "head thing" is my opinion as being the only logical thing why Sonia's legs wont work in the final, despite her times all season saying that she could keep up with such a pace. If anyone injects any type of pace in a final, then Sonia is gone. Now I wouldnt have expected her to keep up with the pace set by the Turkish one later on in the race. But she was well capable of sticking with the bunch when the Chinese one went to the front. She is still better than Jo Pavey is - except when it comes to finals, when she goes to sh!te, for some reason - which I put down to her head.

I dont mean to be too critical though. To be even making Olympic finals at this stage of her career is quite an achievement.

ecksor · 26-08-2004 9:46pm

Ok, so basically she can't do finals apart from the loads of times in the past that she did do finals. You know, it's rains in Ireland all the time apart from the days that it doesn't rain and I expect that situation to continue for a long time.

I don't agree that the "head thing" is the only logical thing. Psychology can account for a lot but it doesn't make sense for an athlete like her to go from 14:58 to 16:20 based on a psychological block, especially not in the manner that she did. Her own explanation that her stomach caused her difficulties looks a lot more plausible in that situation.

Big Ears · 26-08-2004 10:15pm

I simply think its a physical thing , trying to run 2 good races in the space of 3 days (at least I think it was) has become too much for her , remember how knackered she looked after the semi , there was little doubt in my mind that if she was knackered after the semi , then she would do worse in the final , and well she did .

Sports people eventually can't keep up with the level they were at as they get older , and it becomes especially hard to put 2 good performances back to back as you get older , time cathces up on athleths you know .

ecksor · 26-08-2004 11:01pm

34 isn't that old although I do accept that recovery does increasingly become a problem for top athletes as they head to their mid-thirties.

2 days recovery and she's 1:22 slower because of age and reduced recuperative powers? It simply doesn't make sense.

The Rooster · 27-08-2004 10:05am

ecksor wrote:

2 days recovery and she's 1:22 slower because of age and reduced recuperative powers? It simply doesn't make sense.

I'd say its because she cant do finals anymore Her only hope of a good run would be in a slow race where nobody injects pace. But it is curious how she can keep up in heats, but not in finals, despite lap times being largely the same.

I can see no other reason for his below par displays in recent finals. "Stomach complaint" screams excuse to me.

Pherekydes · 27-08-2004 11:12am

The Rooster wrote:

I'd say its because she cant do finals anymore Her only hope of a good run would be in a slow race where nobody injects pace. But it is curious how she can keep up in heats, but not in finals, despite lap times being largely the same.

I can see no other reason for his below par displays in recent finals. "Stomach complaint" screams excuse to me.

Seemed to manage those European Finals in 2002 OK. Maybe she did have a stomach complaint. She was never one to give (much less scream) excuses before. Maybe the sex change op did it. :eek:

The Rooster · 27-08-2004 11:25am

Sorry about the typo Sonia!

As I said, its just my opinion, I dont expect everyone to agree with me - but I dont mind debating it.

Anyway, I'll never forget Sonia. Especially on the golf course

ecksor · 27-08-2004 1:02pm

There's very little to debate unless someone can explain how being tailed off early and running 16:20 makes any sense for her at all unless something was physically wrong with her. It simply doesn't make sense.

Sonia O'Sullivan

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