Who is Sophie O'Sullivan? Five things to know about the Olympic athlete and daughter of Sonia

Sophie O'Sullivan being presented with a 1500m gold medal by her mother, Olympian Sonia O'Sullivan. Picture: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
Sophie O'Sullivan is an athlete, representing Ireland at her first Olympics in Paris 2024. She has burst onto the international athletics scene over the past year, but who exactly is this middle-distance runner?
Here are five things you need to know about Sophie.

Sophie is the daughter of Sonia O’Sullivan and Nic Bideau. Sonia, of course, is one of Ireland’s greatest athletes, winning a silver medal in the 5000m at the 2000 Olympics. Australian Nic Bideau is a former runner himself, and is also a successful coach. With genes like that running through her veins, it’s no surprise that we’re seeing Sophie competing at Olympic level.

Sophie was born in December 2001 and, at just 22, this is her first Olympics. She’s one of several athletes on Team Ireland who are taking part in their first Olympics, including Rhasidat Adeleke, Sharlene Mawdsley, Nicola Tuthill and Kate O’Connor.

Sophie has dual Australian and Irish citizenship but chose to represent Ireland on the world stage. She runs the 800m, 1500m and the 3000m (she is running the 1500m in Paris). In 2018, when she was 17, she represented Ireland for the first time at the European U18 Championships in Hungary. She finished in second place in the 800m and her mother Sonia presented her with her silver medal. In 2023 at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Sophie ran a personal best time for the 1500m of 4:02.15. This time secured her an automatic qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

In her early life in Australia, Sophie didn’t necessarily want to follow in mum Sonia’s footsteps. She told European Athletics in 2023 that when she was younger “I wanted to do my own thing”. In Melbourne, where she grew up, she played basketball and football but realised her talent for running when she was in high school.

After being awarded a US athletics scholarship at University of Washington, she studied Journalism. Sophie graduated with her degree in journalism in June 2024, just one month before setting off to Paris for the Olympics. During her time at the University of Washington, Sophie was part of the Washington Huskies athletics team, and has been a top performer on the collegiate athletics circuit during her time there.
Sophie O’Sullivan will run the 1500m at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Her heat will take place on Tuesday, August 6.