Defar the star as Ethiopia gets gold

SONIA O’SULLIVAN brought down the curtain on her Olympic odyssey in the heat of Athens last night when she was lapped by seven runners.

Then she had the horrible task of running past the Ethiopians as they celebrated Meseret Defar’s gold medal to complete the last lap and probably her final race at this level.

She was competing in her fourth Olympics and admitted it would be her last after she finished out the race, cheered on by the crowds in the stands and waving to the Irish fans.