Meet the new coach on Ireland’s Fittest Family: Sonia O'Sullivan
Cork Olympic medal winner Sonia O'Sullivan has joined the Ireland's Fittest Family team. Picture: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland.
Olympic medal winner Sonia O’Sullivan has joined Ireland’s Fittest Family as a coach, replacing fellow Corkonian Anna Geary, who is expecting her first child over the summer.
O’Sullivan will join fellow coaches Davy Fitzgerald, Nina Carberry, and Donncha O’Callaghan in the new season which is set to return to RTÉ later this year.
“I have always loved Ireland’s Fittest Family as it’s a positive promotion of fitness, so it makes it extra special to be joining the line-up of coaches this year,” O’Sullivan says.
“I’ve big shoes to keep warm for Anna Geary, but of course I’m in it to win, so Donncha, Nina and Davy… I’m here to compete and I’m very excited to get started!”
Former Cork camogie star Geary and her husband Kevin Sexton announced the pregnancy in February.
Also joining the team is Laura Fox, who will take on presenting duties. Mairead Ronan presented the show for 10 years and the 43-year-old first shared her decision to step down to the Irish Examiner's Weekend magazine saying she loved her time on the show but also loved "change," and loved "being the person who decides on the change"
"I look forward to watching it this year with my feet up with my family and not knowing who the winner is and I’m also really hopeful that I will be back on screens on something else, because I still want to work in telly. I love telly. But I love change more," Ronan said at the time.
Fox presents Laura Fox on 2FM at Weekends and she says she is delighted to take on her “dream job”.
“I’ve been a fan of Ireland’s Fittest Family for a long time, it’s such a feelgood, brilliant programme for all the family,” she says.
“Mairead Ronan was a fantastic presenter on the show, and I’m just delighted to be following in her footsteps. I can’t wait to get started working with the incredible team of coaches on the show and the super-fit families who are going to be coming our way to take part later this year. It’s a dream job for me.”
Alan Tyler, Head of Entertainment Commissioning RTÉ, says O’Sullivan’s presence on the show will amp up the competitive nature of the coaches.
“Ireland’s Fittest Family is a positive celebration of fitness, focus, and family, Sonia is the perfect addition to the line-up,” he says.
“Whenever Sonia competes, she plans to win, so it’s bound to make for another exciting competition this year.”
