Poignant end to Sonia’s bid for glory

AND so it ends. All those nights of shredding fingernails with hearts in our mouths, those nights when our hearts were warmed and broken; in all likelihood, they ended last night as Sonia O’Sullivan finished the 5,000m final in Athens.

It’s fitting that one of the great Irish sporting stories came to an end in this city, so evocative and redolent with athletic achievement. Sonia’s trials and tribulations have entertained and enthralled us like those of few other Irish athletes.

In one respect, it didn’t matter where she finished last night. There was always going to be a sense of sadness hanging over the occasion - the sort of sadness that comes with closure. Last night, Sonia was draping a veil over a national love affair.