Like Mother, like daughter, a defiant Sophie O'Sullivan set a new personal best in her 1500m Olympic heat this morning, missing out on automatic qualification for the semi-finals by just one place.
While the daughter of Irish Olympic legend Sonia O'Sullivan was unlucky not to qualify for the semi-final automatically, a resilient finish from O'Sullivan means she still has a shot at semi-final qualification in tomorrow morning's repechage.
O'Sullivan had been pacing well and looked set to make a charge for a top-six finish nearing the final bend, before her struggling Japanese counterpart lost her footing, clipped the Irish athlete and broke much of her momentum at the race's most critical juncture.
Despite the disastrous knock for one of Ireland's most promising runners, a resilient O'Sullivan battled back to claim seventh place while knocking 5 seconds off her season-best and setting a new personal best.
A feat that's even more impressive, considering a rollercoaster season that has seen the 1500m National Senior Champion plighted by injury.
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Sophie O'Sullivan pinpoints moment that cost her automatic qualification
While O'Sullivan was in an unnecessarily apologetic form speaking to David Gillick after the game, like all the greats, she was a 'little annoyed' to have missed out on the automatic qualification, despite smashing her personal best.
Running through the last few hundred metres, O'Sullivan explained that a 'bad' decision to go up the inside, instead of out and around, combined with being clipped by her Japanese opponent saw her miss out on qualification.
Sophie O'Sullivan was happy to get a new personal best but "a little annoyed" to miss out on automatic qualification for the 1500m semi-finals by one place
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Really good to get a PB, but I felt really good there...Japanese person there and I think she kinda threw me a bit, and I started to get going again in the last 100, I'm a little annoyed to miss out because I thought I had it and I felt really good.
I think (with 200m to go) the Japanese girl was just slowing down a lot and I tried to go around and she moved right to where I was, it was a bit of bad luck I think. I probably should've tried to go the outside but I tried the inside and yeah it was a bad choice but it is what it is, so I get to comeback tomorrow.
I felt really good, and its nice to know that I have it (the time). I think if I'm in the mix with a hundred, two hundred to go I think I can do it.
Sophie's new personal best leaves her just 1.3 seconds off her mother's personal best and 4th on the Irish all-time list at just twenty-two years of age and in her first Olympic 1500m race.
Sophie O'Sullivan will now get another shot to progress to the 1500m final in tomorrow morning's repechage, as will Ireland's Sarah Healy who also finished seventh in her 1500m heat.
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