Gillian O'Sullivan (born 21 August 1976 in
Killarney
Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Cast ...
) is an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
race walker. She set the unofficial world record in the 5000m walk in Belfast, United Kingdom since 2002 however, the IAAF have refused to verify it. She won a silver medal at the
world championship in 2003 over 20km. It was the first time since 1995 that an Irish athlete had won a World Championship medal. Six years later in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
at the World Championships
Olive Loughnane won silver at the same event as O'Sullivan.
O'Sullivan was also the first Irish athlete to win a medal in the walk at an Athletics Championship. O'Sullivan was one of the main contenders for Ireland to win a medal in the Olympics in Athens in 2004 in the 20 km walk but suffered an injury just before the games that prevented her from taking part. O'Sullivan retired on 19 April 2007 after years of injuries.
She now works as a personal trainer and runs a series of health, fitness and motivation talks in
Cork.
Achievements
She attended Lissivigeen N.S
External links
* http://www.gillianosullivan.ie
*
* http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?p=1434#more-1434
*
1976 births
Living people
Irish female racewalkers
Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Olympic athletes of Ireland
Sportspeople from County Kerry
World Athletics Championships medalists
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