Sporting achievement has been undermined in recent years by money and drugs but the first 12 months of the new century saw ground being reclaimed. Years of damaging revelations were replaced in 2000 by a multitude of team and individual feats which put excellence and integrity ahead of greed and cynicism. Internationally, the year was always likely to be judged by the success or failure of the Sydney Olympics and the Australian city gave us a games that will be remembered as the greatest of the modern era. After the debacle of Atlanta in 1996, when the Olympic movement allowed the games to be destroyed by commercialism, Sydney restored the dignity and feel-good factors which are an integral part of the showpiece of world sport. Even the scourge of drugs was addressed by the International Olympic Committee in a belated admission of the damage inflicted by cheats over the past 20 years.
For most Irish people, however, the abiding memory of the Sydney Olympics will be the outstanding display by Sonia O'Sullivan in winning a silver medal in the 5000 metres. For sheer drama and breathless tension, O'Sullivan's battle with Romanian athlete, Gabriela Szabo, was one of the most exciting finals of the Sydney games. After the bitter disappointments suffered by O'Sullivan at the Barcelona and Atlanta Olympics, it was fitting that the best athlete the Republic has ever produced should win her medal at the best games ever staged.
O'Sullivan's success was mirrored by a number of Irish sportsmen and women in 2000. Golfer, Darren Clarke, was one of the few players to take the scalp of the all-conquering Tiger Woods when he beat the world's best golfer to win one million dollars at the world matchplay championship in California last February; horse trainer John Oxx and jockey Johnny Murtagh became the first partnership to win the treble of Irish and English derbies and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe with the wonder horse Sinndar; while Roy Keane led Manchester Utd to another Premiership title and then captained the Republic of Ireland in their fine World Cup performances against Portugal and Holland. Even Irish rugby, which has witnessed more than its quota of false dawns, celebrated a resurgence in fortunes with Munster's march to the European Cup final and the magnificence of Brian O'Driscoll in scoring three tries as Ireland beat France in Paris for the first time in 28 years. When the superb All Ireland winning performances by Kilkenny and Kerry and the heroics of the Paralympian team in Sydney are added to this roll of honour, the scale of Irish achievements, nationally and internationally, can be appreciated. However, it would be naive to believe that successes like these indicate that Irish sport is in rude health. Outside of Sonia O'Sullivan's achievement, it was a dismal Olympics for Irish athletes, a situation not helped by the unseemly squabbling between leading sports administrators in the aftermath of Sydney. Developing the next generation of Irish sporting heroes and heroines requires a coherent national policy involving top-class coaching, substantial funding and state-of-the-art facilities. While the Government and the GAA deserve support for their separate stadium developments in Dublin - both are badly needed - a sceptical public has still to be convinced that an overall strategy for sport has moved beyond the planning stage and anywhere near that of our European neighbours.