Cobh's Sophie O'Sullivan confirms her potential by winning ...

FOR so much of her burgeoning career, Sophie O’Sullivan has been followed around with the mantle of being ‘Sonia’s daughter’ but now, without question, the 22-year-old has written her own story, etching her name into the annals of Irish athletics by leading an astonishingly rare 1-2 in the European U23 1500 final in Finland on Sunday afternoon.

Sophie O’Sullivan, middle, gold medal winner, unleashed a finishing kick which would ultimately see her run to gold a 4:07.18 PB. Sarah Healy, silver crossed just behind in 4:07.36 with Britain’s Shannon Flockhart third in 4:08.37

O’Sullivan has made her presence felt at senior level this year, hacking lumps off her 1500m bests, and now she has next month’s World Championships in Budapest, and the 2024 Olympics in Paris, firmly on the agenda.

Picture: Giancarlo Colombo/Sportsfile

Sarah Healy, as by far the fastest athlete on personal bests, was keen to make the final an honest race and the Dubliner went straight to the front, towing the field through 800m in a steady 2:17.78 before dropping a swift 63-second lap to test her rivals’ strength.

KICK

O’Sullivan, though, was tracking her every move, stalking the Dubliner around the final bend before unleashing a kick that was reminiscent of the one her mother used to win multiple global titles in the ’90s. 

O’Sullivan hit the line in a PB of 4:07.18, with Healy just behind in 4:07.36 and Britain’s Shannon Flockhart third in 4:08.37 – O’Sullivan’s last lap a vicious 61 seconds.

“It feels fantastic, I was second five years ago so it’s good to get the gold,” she said. 

The big thing for me was staying as close as possible on the third lap as I tend to get distracted mid-race.”