The Irish Times/VHI Sportswoman of the Year, Derval O'Rourke: Athletics journalist Ian O'Riordangives the backstory to the year's blockbuster

WESTIN HOTEL. DAY.

The door of the taxi gently closes and the vehicle, with one back-seat passenger, heads, in winter sunshine, for the city quays. Slightly intoxicated by the fine wines on offer at The Irish Times/VHI Sportswoman of the Year Awards, the athletics journalist is flicking through a small notebook, the beginnings of the movie script he is now ready to present to the big-shot director.

COUNTRY ESTATE. EVENING.

Big-shot director:Right, you've got about five minutes, so start talking fast.

Athletics journalist:Excellent. Opening scene. Camera pulls out from Olympic flame to a packed stadium. Wild noise and excitement, even though it's only the heats of the women's 100 metre hurdles. But down in the tunnel, away from all the cameras and flashing lights, there's a young Irish athlete crying her eyes out. . .

BSD:What's her problem?

AJ:Well, this is her Olympic dream, in tatters. She's young, early 20s. But this has turned into a nightmare. Ever since she used to race and beat other kids on the street she'd dreamed of being here. Instead, she ended up in hospital a few weeks before the Olympics, sick as a dog. Then gets fairly blown away in her heat.

So she makes a vow. She'll do everything she can to come back in four years and win a medal.

BSD:Sounds a bit unlikely to me.

AJ:That's the thing. It becomes a battle against all the odds. No Irish girl has ever made an impact in world sprinting. Least of all this pale and slight girl, with a gently freckled face and natural smile. More like something you'd see in a school choir. But she's determined as hell to make it.

BSD:So she takes drugs.

AJ:No way. This is an old-time, feel-good movie. It's about restoring faith in the sport. Anyway, nothing is going to stop her. In fact, when her grant money is cut she gets even more determined. This becomes a mission.

BSD:But it's still four years to the next Olympics.

AJ:Right. So she sits down with her coach, one of those really genuine lovers of the sport. The plan is to medal at the European championships, the halfway point between the two, make the final at the World championships the year before, and then medal at the next Olympics. She mentions this to a few people at various stages and they laugh.

BSD:Come on. This needs some excitement.

AJ:Well, there's a great scene, somewhere warm, where the young Irish athlete is training with her coach. He's trying to reinvent her technique and it's going horribly wrong. She's crying again . . . (BSD rolls his eyes).

AJ:Then suddenly she nails it. She hits times neither of them had imagined. She does a standing long jump that draws gasps from onlookers. It's only a few weeks before the first big event of the year, the World Indoor championships, and her coach looks her in the eye. You can win, he says.

BSD:So wait. She comes from nowhere to win the World Indoors.

AJ:Yeah, it's incredible. Three races in one day. She breaks the Irish record in every round. Wins the final. Seriously fast too. It becomes the story of the weekend. Even the Irish journalists end up being interviewed, then foolishly drink bottles of vodka in celebration.

BSD:I can't believe she beats the Americans. Aren't they untouchable?

AJ:They don't even get a medal. There was a big Jamaican in there too but she ended up falling over herself she was so determined to win. This Irish girl out-psyched them all. The only problem is now everyone wants a part of her. When she gets home she's on every TV and radio programme and her training is seriously interrupted. So she rushes to get back and ends up getting injured.

BSD:More tears, right?

AJ:Actually, yeah. She doesn't get to race until July, just six weeks before the European championships. Suddenly it's a race against time. She also signed this big sponsorship deal that's running ads every five minutes. "We're with you all the way", they say. If they only knew how close she came to quitting.

BSD:So she takes drugs.

AJ:No. No drugs. You can still make it in the sport without drugs, you know. She barely improves her time going into the Europeans, and only looks okay in her heats. She fades a bit in her semi-final, so gets lane one for the final. Believe me, that's not where you want to be for a major final. But she runs an unbelievable race. Charges out of the blocks. Fights, fights, surges, and then bang! She's definitely got a medal. And smashes the Irish record. The big Swedish girl wins, but she's in a photo finish for silver or bronze with a big German. They end up sharing silver . . .

BSD:Wow, that's quite a run. We still need a bit more human interest.

AJ: Well, at the end of all that, a big TV awards show causes a bit of a stir. One guy claims he'd never heard of her and another has a problem celebrating second best. So they give the award to someone else. There's outrage. She just laughs it off, and gets to work on her next target, the World championships. She needs to make that final.

BSD:Okay, okay. That's enough for now. Come back to me with the ending. But we're getting someone big to play the part, right? I don't want a nobody playing . . what's her name?