Sonia O'Sullivan to help Irish athletes onto the world stage

In a recent interview with Feidhlim Kelly in the Irish Examiner, Sonia O'Sullivann outlined her intention to help more Irish athletes advance their careers on the world stage. With this in mind, she is setting up a group called Soniaagrith, a nod to her own user name on Twitter which of course means 'Sonia Running' in Irish.

In the interview, Sonia said......."I want to be a leading light for athletes and a kind of umbrella to help them achieve their goals. I want to send out a positive message and breathe a positive energy into their running. Hopefully by setting this up, I can make a difference to the performances of Irish athletes. This year I’ve helped Laura Crowe who has done really well and made a big improvement by linking up with my husband Nic Bideau.”

Nic Bideau is one of the top coaches in Australia and is the director of the Melbourne Track Club. He is also an agent for athletes and has halped Paul Robinson, Laura Crowe and Mark English getting onto the European competition circuit.

The interview with Sonia O'Sullivan can be seen on the Irish Examiner website HERE

Feidhlim Kelly also interviewed Nic Bideau recently and you can hear it below (approx 16 mins long, excuse the poor sound quality). In it, he outlines his views on Diamond League meetings, the level of doping in athletics and gives a forthright view on what Irish athletes need to do to advance their careers.