The long-held suspicion that Sonia O’Sullivan was cheated out of medals at the 1993 World Championships has been strengthened by claims from a Chinese whistleblower that the country ran a systematic, widespread doping programme through the 1980s and ’90s.

Sonia O’Sullivan last night admitted she knew the Chinese athletes who denied her World Championship gold in 1993 were performing “beyond human capability” but said she considered them “victims”.

TEN years ago, Chinese trio Qu Yunxia, Zhang Linli and Zhang Lirong deprived Sonia O’Sullivan of a medal in the final of the 3,000m at the world championships in Stuttgart.