Sonia cleared to represent Australia in Commonwealth Games
She will go through the formalities of qualification at the trials today in what will be her first track race since the BUPA Cork City Sports last summer.
According to The Age newspaper the 36-year-old Cobh athlete has been given permission to represent Australia just one week after she had been granted Australian citizenship.
While she has been cleared to represent Australia at the Commonwealth Games, she will not be eligible to represent the country at the world championships, the Olympic Games or any competition under IAAF Rules.
To compete for Australia at those levels she would have to make applications to Athletic Australia, Athletics Ireland and the IAAF and would have to stand down for a stipulated period.
“Sonia has not made any such application and it is her intention to compete for Ireland at this year’s European championships in Gothenburg and into the future,” Liam Hennessy, the AAI’s International Secretary under the old structure, said.
“The Commonwealth Games is not an IAAF event and is not covered by IAAF rules and, as a result, this means that England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can compete as separate entities along with several other small entities such as the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.”
In fact, Irish high jumper, Simon Phelan, will represent Jersey at the Commonwealth Games. While he is Irish-born his family lives in Jersey where his father is a manager with Bank of Ireland and he will be representing Ireland at the indoor meeting in Cardiff over this weekend.
And last time around Ireland’s triple jump record holder, Tanishia Robinson-Scanlon, who was born in Jamaica, represented England.
“What Sonia is doing is not unusual at all,” Hennessy pointed out. “The only eligibility she requires is that she be eligible under Commonwealth Games Rules but she will still represent Ireland at events held under IAAF rules and she had no intention of relinquishing that eligibility.”
There is no guarantee that Sonia O’Sullivan will qualify for Melbourne. Her only track race last season was at The Mardyke and to gain qualification at 5,000m she would at least have to run the B standard of 15 mins 45 secs.
Elsewhere, more than 40 Irish athletes will compete in the indoor meeting in Cardiff this weekend including juniors Ciaran Ó Lionaird who finished second in the mile in Boston last weekend and schools 800m champion, David McCarthy.
