the hard-drinking teen who turned into a world-beater

The most compelling part of Sonia's story tells of the long, dark months that followed when she slipped into deep depression, convinced that people were spreading rumours about her personal life, and that the world judged her a failure.

"It was lonely, so lonely," she recalls.

On Christmas Day: "The highlight was when I went for a run. I just cooked myself dinner and that was it."

And then the redemption. She climbed out of the pit and won her Olympic medal.

On a personal level she found true love with Nic Bideau (after a triangular tussle involving runner Cathy Freeman), married, and had two beautiful daughters.

And with all that, the loneliness of this remarkable middle-distance runner comes to a happy end.

My Story by Sonia O'Sullivan, with Tom Humphries, is published by Penguin Ireland

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