O'Sullivan v Jacobs: Two sides to the one story

O'Sullivan

All journalism is local. The Swiss gather around Anita Weyermann and poke their mikes in her face. The American's smother Regina Jacobs in questions. The Irish wait for Sonia O'Sullivan and guess what, she just breezes past into the arms of her Australian boyfriend and off into the night. Yikes!

The Swiss, elated with having a medal winner in their midst, seem surprised that anyone is interested in asking about the rough-housing on the back straight.

"She had no comment," the Swiss journalists say curtly to the Irish journalists.

The Americans have a story to tell, however. Regina Jacobs still has smoke coming out of her ears.

We know this because we have been glancing fearfully up the tunnel as Jacobs pulled Sonia O'Sullivan away from RTE's Tony O'Donoghue and jabbed fingers at her. We know this because we have already interviewed Tony about it, prising the quotes out of him as he tries to get on with his job.

"I'm angry, very angry," Jacobs says, the quotes coming staccato like bullet fire. "I pushed her in the tunnel. If you do something as blatant as that you don't have to act up and make a big deal about it. She should have apologised to me. Sonia was falling she said and she grabbed my shirt and nearly took me out of the race."

It continues like that for sometime before Jacobs is distracted by questions about her dead grandmother and her recent injuries.

The press area is emptying when Sonia O'Sullivan comes back, wiped free of sweat and looking airy and upbeat in a white tee shirt.

She is talking about making a protest. The Irish team manager Nick Davis is hovering waiting to have a word with her about the same thing. First Sonia gives her evidence.

"I mean with 300 to go I was in the perfect position, felt great and about to make my move and the girl from Switzerland Weyermann decided she was in a bad spot and didn't want to be there, and just sort of said to herself, look out everyone I'm coming through. She got herself out of there and spilled people all over the place. She pushed me and I grabbed Jacobs. You can't just do that. You can't just push yourself to where you think you want to be.

"I had to come up on the outside to get into that position. That's why I did it. If you are boxed on the inside that's it."

We ask her about what those of us familiar with GAA matter are already calling the "tunnel incident." Sonia has embraced diplomacy.

"I don't know," she says "she (Jacobs) said something and I reacted. I feel the Swiss girl should be disqualified. It knocked me out of my stride what she did."

Did you feel when that happened that you were in real contention?

"I felt I had a winning chance. When she went I reacted but everything tied up on me. I felt I was always in the right position. The pace wasn't too slow it was a decent enough race. I went along the outside and with 200 yards to go it happened. Just when I should have been making my move. It knocked my momentum."

Having spotted Nick Davis, she tells him that she thinks a protest is called for. She departs suddenly with positive words about defending her 5,000 metres title later in the week. There are a million unanswered questions hanging in the air.

By the time she reaches the end of the corridor and the night air she has changed her mind about the protest and turned her thoughts to the track again.

Strange and interesting woman.