This morning our series of Irish Times writers' favourite sporting moments continues, with Ian O'Riordan recalling Sonia O'Sullivan's 5,000m silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. O'Sullivan's silver - the first track medal in history won by an Irish woman - followed a famous 400m gold for Cathy Freeman and came on a night when Michael Johnson and Haile Gebrselassie also topped the podium. O'Riordan writes: "O'Sullivan chases hard, her Olympic dream suddenly alive again, and crazily they go neck and neck all the way down the home stretch - Go, Go, Go! - until Szabo just about nails it, in 14:40.79, with O'Sullivan falling .23 of a second short. Not that it matters: O'Sullivan becomes the first Irishwoman in history to win an Olympic medal on the track, and deservedly celebrates with a lap of honour, the tricolour in one hand, a furry wombat in the other, exactly as Freeman gets her gold medal on the podium. The best night of athletics forever!"
The coronavirus crisis has had a detrimental effect on businesses around the world, but one industry which has benefited from the global pandemic is the home fitness industry. With people now limited to exercising within a 2km radius of their home - and with gyms and swimming pools all closed - some fitness companies have experienced a surge in online sales. Fitness Equipment Ireland are one of those companies whose online business is booming, as Ruadhri Croke writes in this morning's Pay For Play column: "In the run-up to Christmas, the company had revenues of about €50,000 in online sales for the month of November which was up on the monthly average for the year. In the month just gone they pulled in just over €450,000 in online sales, an 800 per cent increase on that month of November last year." Meanwhile today's Pay For Play also brings you five YouTube channels where you can see replays and repeats of classic sports matches and events - the perfect way to relax after a home workout.
Elsewhere in his column this morning Sean Moran looks back at the interesting case of the 1925 All-Ireland senior football Championship, when Mayo had the title taken from under their noses by Connacht rivals Galway. In an era of draws, replays and objections Mayo seemed to have been crowned champions by default, after potential final opponents Kerry and Cavan were both expelled from the Championship. However, defeat in a rearranged Connacht final deep into October saw Galway crowned All-Ireland champions, unbeknownst to anyone in Tuam at the time. Speaking to the Irish Times, Galway GAA journalist and broadcaster, Jim Carney, said: "I've long felt, after spending many hours digging deep into this now 95-year-old controversy, that Galway GAA board should revisit it and clear the way for the All-Ireland SFC roll of honour to be amended."
Head coach Warren Gatland has raised the prospect of a mouth-watering 'decider' between the Lions and the All Blacks next summer, as a warm-up ahead of the 2021 tour to South Africa. The Lions and New Zealand drew 1-1 in 2017 and Gatland believes a fixture next summer, potentially held at Twickenham, could be worth £5 million.
And in today's Reality Bites column former Dublin hurler Joey Boland tells Malachy Clerkin how his Sports Physio Ireland business has had to adapt to survive during the pandemic, and embrace an online platform. He said: "It's really given us a kick in the hole. We've always wanted to do something online but now we have to do it. The economy we're going to be going back to is going to be so different to the one we left. I think you're going to see a lot fewer people working in offices in Dublin city centre."
