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Sonia O'Sullivan is one of the greatest sporting figures Ireland has ever produced. In a career which saw her competing at the highest international levels for over a decade, she turned in world-class times in events ranging from the 1,500 metres to the marathon, capped by World Championship gold in the 5,000 metres in 1995 and Olympic silver in the same event in 2000. But her performances on the track are only part of the story of this passionate, sometimes fragile, and always compelling athlete.Now, Sonia tells the full story of her life for the first time - from her childhood in Cobh, Co. Cork, through her early successes on the track, to the highs of 1995 and 2000 and the low of the 1996...
OLYMPIAN, WORLD CHAMPION RUNNER AND IRISH SPORTING LEGEND 'Sonia walked to the start line with the other athletes, her tummy full of butterflies. She could feel the eyes of the crowd upon them. Sixty-five thousand people, all here to watch their race. She had dreamt about this moment for so long, and now it was here.' As a little girl, playing with her friends in Cobh, Co. Cork, Sonia O'Sullivan was known as the fastest runner. When she joined a running club and started to win races, she began to dream of the Olympic Games. Through her talent, dedication and her ability to get back up and dust herself down when things went wrong. Sonia went from an ordinary girl who loved to run to an extraordinary world class athlete. The story of one of Ireland's greatest ever athletes -- and a dream made real.
These nuggets of wisdom are offered by an Academy Award–nominated actor (James Woods), a popular comedian (Aasif Mandvi), and a world-famous novelist (Jodi Picoult) to their sixteen-year-old selves. No matter how accomplished and confident they seem today, at sixteen, they were like the rest of us—often unsure, frequently confused, and usually in need of a little reassurance. In Dear Me, 75 celebrities, writers, musicians, athletes, and actors have written letters to their younger selves that give words of comfort, warning, humor, and advice. These letters present intimate, moving, and witty insights into some of the world’s most intriguing and admired individuals. By turns funny, surprising, raw, and uplifting, this singular collection captures the universal conditions that are youth, life, and growing up.
Irish sportswomen have been breaking the mould for a very, very long time. In 1956, Maeve Kyle became our first female Olympian, and in 1978 rally driver Rosemary Smith broke the country’s land-speed record! Through the 1990s and 2000s we had world champions in Sonia O’Sullivan, Derval O’Rourke and Olive Loughnane, and more recently, the fantastic Katie Taylor, Kellie Harrington and Annalise Murphy have been among those who have put Irish sportswomen on the map. This book breaks the mould once more, as a first ever compendium of stories for children about our best contemporary sportswomen. With a fairytale touch, RTɒs Jacqui Hurley tells the stories of women who have proved that being a girl is not a barrier to sporting success. Each story is one of overcoming big challenges, and the role models celebrated here are sure to inspire the next generation of Irish sportswomen. Featuring twenty-five dazzling athletes, and with delightful drawings by five wonderful female Irish illustrators, Girls Play Too is a celebration of some of our brightest and best sporting stars, and of all that you can achieve if you try your best and never give up on your dreams.
With well-known personalities such as Sonia O'Sullivan, Kathryn Thomas, Una Healy, Myrtle Allen, Sr Stanislaus Kennedy, and former justice Catherine McGuinness, among the many former Guides, A Hundred Years A-Growing is a celebration of this youth-driven girl-only organization.
Cora Staunton is an elite sportswoman: winner of four All-Irelands, 11 All-Stars and five Club All-Irelands. She is a trailblazer in the Australian Football League, and a hero in her native Mayo for her gaelic football skills. But it's been a long and eventful road for Cora. When she was young, she was small for her age, and had to prove herself at every level: to the boys in her club, to the Mayo selectors who took a chance on her as a teenager, but most importantly to herself. From Croke Park to the stadiums of Sydney, Cora has proved herself to be a master of the game. This is the story of how a young football-mad girl became a living legend. A story of female empowerment for younger readers.
It is summer, the hay and silage have not yet been made on John Connell’s farm, so he has time to indulge his other great passion: running. John sets off on a marathon run of 42.2 kilometres through his native Longford, the scene of his award-winning book The Cow Book. As he runs across woodlands, fields and tiny roads, he tells the story of his life and contemplates Ireland’s history, old and new. He also remembers other great runs he has done, from Australia to Canada, and tells the stories of some of his running heroes, such as Haile Gebrselassie. Part memoir, part essay, The Running Book explores what it is to be alive and what movement can do for a person. It is deeply intimate and ...
What does it mean to be Irish today? Why do over 70 million people worldwide embrace their Irish heritage? Being Irish gathers a diverse group of 100 people - the famous and not so famous - each trying to give expression to that special something that is more or less recognizable as Irish.
Welcome to Japan, the most running-obsessed nation on earth, where: a long-distance relay race is the country's biggest annual sporting event; companies sponsor their own running teams, paying the athletes like employees; and marathon monks run a thousand marathons in a thousand days to reach spiritual enlightenment. Adharanand Finn - award-winning author of Running with the Kenyans - moved to Japan to discover more about this unique running culture and what it might teach us about the sport and about Japan. As an amateur runner about to turn forty, he also hoped find out whether the Japanese approach to training might help him keep improving. What he learned - about competition, about team work, about beating your personal bests, about form and about himself - will fascinate anyone who is keen to explore why we run, and how we might do it better.