Poacher turned gamekeeper
Ireland Olympic 5000m silver medallist Sonia O’Sullivan was a fiercely driven athlete during a long and glittering career. Spikesmag.com caught up with the 40-year-old mum-of-two to chat about how she plans to translate the passion and intensity of her track career to her role as Chef de Mission for the Olympic Council of Ireland at the London 2012 Games.
How did you become the Chef de Mission of the Irish Olympic team?
Over a year ago, after the
Olympics in Beijing, I was voted on to the executive committee for the
Olympic Council of Ireland. Then at the
European Youth Olympics last year, I went out there as deputy Chef de Mission. They then just asked me if I’d like to do it (become Chef de Mission for London 2012).
The main role I have is communication with the athletes.
What was the experience like as deputy chef at the European Youth Olympics in Finland last year?
It was the first time I’d been a manager at a multi-sport event. You get to meet people from other sports like swimmers and cyclists and see how they operate. That’s probably the biggest challenge for me, to figure out what athletes from different sports need and how to help give them everything they need.
Do you need to be a quick learner?
I have to pay a bit more attention to other sports in future years and to find out more about the coaches and what they need. When it comes down to it – all athletes are the same and they need the same things, so it is just being able to help them and do what I can with the resources available to me.
When you were an athlete did you have any desire to one day become a sports administrator?
When you are an athlete you definitely don’t think beyond what you are doing. I never thought, ‘I want to come back to the Olympics and be a leader, rather than an athlete.’ I think London will be fantastic and to be involved at that level will be huge for me and hopefully I will have some impact. Leadership experience comes from the top and I hope to make the athletes believe in themselves and rise to a level that you expect people to be at. I’ve been to the Olympics and I’ve always expected the highest level of myself and I’ll try and instill that belief into the athletes. It doesn’t mean everyone will go out there as medal chances. I just expect everyone to go out there and give their best to perform at their best.
Now you are the other side of the fence as an administrator do you feel you have more empathy with administrators?
Oh definitely. Now I look back on when I was an athlete and how I was. A lot of the time I didn’t even know who the people in charge were because I was so engrossed in what I was doing. You knew people were there to help you out and do things for you but I definitely remember associating myself with people I knew and getting them to do things for me. I suppose, what I want is for the athletes to see me as a familiar face and for people to come to me.
What does the job does entail?
I don’t know the ins and outs. I know there is a lot of stuff to do and a book I am supposed to read about what a chef does. The main thing is to be very positive, energetic and uplifting and make the experience of the Olympics a positive one. I’ll do everything I can to help them be successful.
Can you compare the buzz of being in a managerial role to that of being an athlete?
Well, you can’t really compare. It is definitely different. I think what it does do is it gives me a focus and a goal. It is something I want to be successful at. It is not something I want to do for the rest of my life. London 2012 is all I can think about right now and doing everything possible I can to help the athletes and get them to believe in themselves.
As a former elite athlete what qualities do you think you bring to the role?
Well, it was not so long ago that I was an elite athlete and I hope I’m able to channel that drive into other athletes. I still have the belief that I can do it, so why can’t you do it? You find with a lot of Irish people there is a lot of negativity and their self-belief and confidence can be lacking, so if you find someone who believes in you then you can start to believe in yourself.
Does the managerial role you now have fill the gap of no longer competing?
It definitely gives me a direction and a goal for a couple of years. I spoke to a friend of mine,
Frank O’Mara (two-time former World Indoor 3000m champion), about this. He said ‘I was so glad you took up the job.’
He was an athlete himself and he said it (being involved in sports administration) gives you a goal and a focus and as an athlete you need that.
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