Was Sonia O’Sullivan cheated back in 1993?

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.

O’Sullivan finished second in the 1500m final in Stuttgart 24 years ago, beaten by Liu Dong, who had almost three seconds to spare on her.

The 3000m final saw O’Sullivan coming in fourth behind the Chinese trio of Qu Yunxia, Zhang Linli, and Zhang Lirong. O’Sullivan has in the past stated that some of the performances from Chinese athletes were “beyond human capability”. In an interview with German broadcaster ARD, Chinese doctor Xue Yinxian, 79 and seeking political asylum in Germany, claims more than 10,000 athletes were involved in a state-backed doping programme.