World Class

Year 11 Wesley College student Sophie O’Sullivan won silver in the 800 metres at the European Athletics Under 18 Championships in, Gyor, Hungary, representing Ireland. ‘I wasn’t expecting to get a medal or anything – I just thought to myself, “Get out there,”’ Sophie said.

Sophie, whose mother was born in Ireland, was one of more than 1,000 athletes representing close to 50 European nations at the international competition. ‘It’s only really at international meets that you run a heat, a semi and a final over three days, which is pretty tough, but three weeks ago I was running cross-country for Wesley, so I knew I had the strength for that,’ she said.

The 16-year-old ran her championships campaign with maturity, winning her first heat in a comfortable 2:12.23 and qualifying for the finals with a perfectly timed 2:07.95 in the third semi-final, with plenty left in the tank to take silver in the final in a personal best time of 2:06.05.

‘It’s so exciting to be at the championships in Gyor. You just really want to have a look around and have a good time. I would never have thought at the start of the week when I got here that anything like this might happen,’ the Glen Waverley Campus student said.

‘The field at international competitions is at a high level and there’s certainly more diversity than at APS competition. The European Athletics Under 18 Championships brought together athletes from different cultures, speaking different languages. As good as the competition has been, though, nothing can beat the atmosphere of APS finals and the support of a focused, united and determined Wesley College athletics team.’

One step at a time

Sophie’s international and national success suggest that athletics is a significant part of her life but, she said, athletics doesn’t define her. ‘I enjoy spending time with friends and family, trying different foods, playing badminton – all the normal things – but I also enjoy training in itself – mostly. It’s something I can’t picture not doing. That’s partly because of the strong group of girls I train with under Wesley Head Coach of Athletics and Cross Country Tim O’Shaughnessy. They make training something I look forward to. It’s great to catch up and have a laugh.

‘It’s still hard work, but you learn a lot from that, about having a strong work ethic, just getting the job done. That’s the same for me as a student at it is for me as an athlete.’

Sophie has also learned some useful life lessons about goal setting. ‘I like to set multiple small goals that are comprehensible and achievable, taking things one step at a time,’ she said. ‘Setting distant, overarching life goals can lock you into a certain direction. I have thought about attending university in America after I graduate from Wesley, nothing concrete though.’

Running in the family

Sophie’s athletics journey is no surprise. Her mother, Sonia O’Sullivan, holds the 2,000 metres world record of 5:25.36, set in Edinburgh in 1994 (bettered only by Genzebe Dibaba’s 5:23.75 on an indoor track in Sabadell in 2017), won the 5,000 metres gold medal at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg and silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Her father, athletics coach Nic Bideau, has worked with Cathy Freeman, 400 metre gold medallist at the Sydney Olympics, and Craig Mottram, 5,000 metres bronze medallist at the 2005 World Track and Field Championships in Helsinki and silver medallist at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

Championships chief executive and former Olympian Márton Gyulai invited Sonia to present medals to the winners. ‘We believe that was a historical moment for our sport,’ he said.

Notwithstanding their athletics backgrounds, Sophie’s parents keep parenting and coaching separate, trusting Wesley’s Tim O’Shaughnessy to, well, coach.

‘I trust Tim in providing good guidance for Sophie, and his training beliefs and methods are very similar to my own,’ Ms O’Sullivan said. ‘Sophie continues to improve and I don’t see any reason to interfere – and it means that she doesn’t need to bring her training home. I’m just there to help her prepare before and recover after each race, but once we get to the track, Sophie has her own routine. I leave her at the warm-up track and just make sure she gets to the call room on time.’

Working together

Both parents have enjoyed watching Sophie and her peers in the Wesley athletics and cross country teams working together under Tim’s guidance over the past few years. ‘It’s really nice to see lots of students wanting to be a part of such a successful team on and off the field,’ Ms O’Sullivan said.

‘My role is to provide support and advice. Sophie ultimately makes the decisions, in training and competition. The drive comes from her. For anyone to be successful in sport they must enjoy it. This doesn’t mean there’s no hard work, but that each athlete embraces and enjoys training with their training partners.

‘Sophie is very independent, determined and competitive: these are her natural instincts. It’s a real pleasure for me to stand back and watch from the stands. She’s definitely determined to carve her own path and knows there are many areas that she will need to work on, depending on how far she wants to chase her dreams.’

For Sophie and her peers, chasing those dreams involves continuous learning. ‘It’s not always the best athlete that wins but the most competitive one, the athlete who never gives up, who learns from their mistakes and from losing,’ Ms O’Sullivan said. ‘There’s always a lesson to be learned, not just about tactics, but about yourself, about resilience, trying something different rather than doing the same things over and over, about determination. We often learn more from mistakes than when everything goes perfectly.’

Determination and commitment

For Yumi Sollier-Smith, who teaches VCE Physical Education, Sophie is a case study of continuous learning through sport. ‘Sophie’s determination and committed approach clearly transfer to other aspects of her learning,’ Ms Sollier-Smith said. ‘Sophie is very self-motivated and always looks to improving her own performance and understanding.

‘She’s an inquisitive student, keen to make connections between the models and theories we investigate in VCE Physical Education and her own sporting endeavours. If you think about it, an athlete like Sophie develops a huge amount of maturity as a result of their experiences; it’s striking to observe how she draws on her knowledge, skills and maturity, as well things like collaborative skills, self-discipline and what psychologists call positive affectivity, all of which contribute to her approach to learning.

Role model

According to Head Coach O’Shaughnessy, Sophie has a big influence on and off the track or cross country course.

‘Sophie is into her seventh year at Wesley and has had an enormous impact on athletics and cross country. She’s been a member of 12 consecutive APS Girls’ Premierships and it’s no coincidence that she has been there from the start of a very successful period for Wesley,’ Mr O’Shaughnessy said. ‘She never misses training and sees it as very important to be there, and that’s great for all the athletes in the squad to see. She has a happy-go-lucky attitude and treats everyone as equal, whether they are first or last, and the team thrives on this.’

According to Mr O’Shaughnessy, while she is relaxed off the track, Sophie is a fierce competitor on it. ‘She first represented Wesley as an 11-year-old in an Under 14 race: she wasn’t overawed by the situation and was leading after 100 metres.  She is always looking to improve and is hard on herself when she has the rare poor race. Her determination has certainly contributed to the competitiveness of the athletics or cross country teams. To Sophie winning and improving are important but being a good person is the most important thing.’

Representing Wesley or Ireland, Sophie O’Sullivan is one athlete – and student – who is definitely on track for success.