Sonia excited by tough 5000m heat

ON Saturday night, Sonia O’Sullivan watched Berhane Adere win the 10,000m title with her now familiar devastating sprint that demolished the gold medal aspirations of her Ethiopian team-mate Werknesh Kindane and Yingie Sun of China, who were the only two athletes remaining in the contest for the medals at the end of a sensational race.

This evening (6.27pm) the former world 5,000m champion will line up alongside the double-seeking Adere in the second and arguably the most difficult heat of the women's 5,000m at Stade de France, in what will be her first appearance in those championships since Athens in 1997 when, as defending champion, she was sensationally eliminated in the heats.

She did not arrive here in Paris until yesterday evening, but when she did she was beaming with enthusiasm having watched the first two days of competition back in London.