PARIS - 30th August 2003, special to Irish Runner.com by Dave Mervyn

I don't like writing sporting epitaphs but it's hard to know where Ireland's greatest athlete Sonia O'Sullivan can go from here. Mentally and physically she seemed off the pace early on in tonight's 5000m final in Paris, and a shocking time of 15:36.62 may condemn her to athletics history.

Too distraught to speak afterwards under the stadium lights, O'Sullivan must now consider her career options. And she may find that this performance will be earmarked by population as another 'Sonia moment'. Right up there with the 'Big D' days of Atlanta '96 - the Cobh athlete came, she conquered in the heat, and subsequently faltered when it mattered most.

For all the talk of her being a dark horse this Championship year, only arriving in Paris on Monday, picking her races carefully to disguise her form, Sonia looked a nervous athlete on the starting line shortly after 5.30pm Irish time.

A 14:55 run in her heat perhaps camouflaged the real pace of O'Sullivan's stride this year and a season of light training by 5000m standards came back to haunt her. She was left trailing at the back of the field by 2000m as a 67-lap spurt by Kenyan Isabella Ochichi caught her off guard.

Lactic acid seemed to course through the legs of the Cork woman as little by little, the leading pack seemed to steal a march on her. To her credit she didn't drop out and finish to the applause of a knowledgeable Stade de France crowd, weary that this was a once-great athlete running behind shadows of her much-medalled self.

Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba produced a brilliant sprint finish to claim a surprise gold, ahead of the gritted teeth and pink headband of European champion Marta Dominguez and Kenya's Edith Masai.

Eighteen-year-old Dibaba was a complete long shot, although she did win this year's World Junior Cross Country Championship. Her winning time of 14:51.72 was hardly exhaustive, on a night when there seemed to be a changing of the guard with much-fancied Berhane Adere in tenth and Sydney Olympic champion Gabriela Szabo just behind her.

Dibaba is the youngest ever gold medallist at a World Championships, beating the record of Irina Stankina who won the 20km Walk in 1995.

33-year-old O'Sullivan finished 55 seconds adrift of her personal best. Sometimes you feel the mother of two turns into a little girl on frayed track nights such as this, but you can't fault Sonia for her willingness to continue to run with the world's best. It was a proud achievement for her to compete at these championships and put in a season's best, which is the highest we expect our other Irish athletes to usually go at major track events.

It's time for a bit of reflection and time with her own 'babas'.

IAAF Paris World Championships