Irish athlete Sonia O'Sullivan is a step closer to representing Australia at next year's Commonwealth Games.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/4440333.stm O'Sullivan is set to lodge her application for residency, which will in turn lead to an attempt to get Australian citizenship. The 35-year-old hopes dual nationality would enable her to still compete for Ireland in other competitions. "I don't know how long it will take - hopefully it will be fairly quickly," said her coach and partner Nic Bideau. "There is nothing we can do to control it but just see what happens." Bideau added that if residency is granted, pressure can be brought to bear to speed up the application for citizenship if it can be shown a delay could have an adverse effect on the applicant - known as the "hardship" system. The pair believe the Commonwealth Games Federation's constitution should open the door to the former world and European 5,000m champion being eligible to compete in Melbourne. One of the articles in the constitution says: "A competitor who is a citizen or subject of two or more countries at the same time may represent either one of them, as he/she may elect." Bideau also said that citizenship would make the time O'Sullivan spends each year in Australia more conducive to training. O'Sullivan spends six months each year training Down Under and currently only qualifies for a visa that runs for three months at a time, forcing her to leave the country in order to renew it. Bideau himself is Australian, the pair have two Australian children and also have homes in both England and Australia. While the Australian trials for the Commonwealth Games take place in February, O'Sullivan is looking to compete in more long-distance road races and might hope to earn a discretionary spot on the team courtesy of her previous record. O'Sullivan finished last in the 5,000m final at the Olympics in Athens after suffering from a badly upset stomach, but there was speculation she may retire. Instead, Bideau confirmed she is now relishing the challenge of the marathon, in which she will compete in London this Sunday, although her future on the track is uncertain and it is possible she may not return to track racing. He said: "Sonia never gave any indication she would retire - that was the media. "She was ill in Athens but then came back to win her next race (the Flora Lite 5k challenge). "It (the marathon) is a new challenge for her. "At the moment she is interested in testing herself in the marathon. She is enjoying training and she likes to run far. "Who knows where that may lead? Maybe Beijing but that is three-and-a-half years off." ENDS
