Tuesday, February 9, 2010 Previous editions
Friday, July 03, 2009
PAUL HESSION bids to keep his unbeaten four-year record at the Mardyke intact when he competes in tomorrow’s Cork City Sports (2pm).
Last year the Athenry Olympian won both the 100m and 200m and is determined to retain both titles when he lines-up against star studded fields tomorrow.
"I am really looking forward to it," said Hession who flies in from his training base in Edinburgh this evening.
"I have won three years in a row but they are making it hard for me. Brendan Christian is a class act this year. He won the 200m in Lille the other night and he has just run a pb of 10.09 secs for 100m.
"But I’m pretty excited about the whole thing. I am having a very consistent season. I have won all my 200m races and I have been running well over 100m so it is good.
"I would rate the 200m in Ostrava as the high point of my season. In some of the earlier races I did not run my best but I was getting through them. The second race was good, ran a better bend so it is promising.
"I have been working on the various phases and I just need to get the bend right to give myself an even better chance.
"Nothing beats practice and a lot of it is psychological. Once you become aware of it you can work on it mentally.
"Cork is a vital point in my build-up to the world championships in Berlin. Cork is where we get down to the real nitty-gritty, and it will the first race in the next phase of the season. After that I have a 200m race in Lausanne next Tuesday night.
Most of his day is spent between the track, the gym and the physio room but he is continuing with his studies.
"I am actually doing a BA Hons in History with Open University just as an aside," he said. "But I am still very much in contact with the Medical Faculty in NUI Galway and doing a few things for them."
Coach John Sheehan is looking to tomorrow’s Mardyke meet to launch his programme that he hopes will culminate with Ireland having at least two relay teams at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
The Leevale man, who is an important cog in the athletics coaching structure, has organised relay races involving the Irish senior, under-23 and junior teams.
A lot of attention will be focused on the women’s under-23 4 x 100m squad which includes Amy Foster, Claire Brady, long jump star Kelly Proper and Louise McKiernan who is on scholarship in the US. The junior 4 x 400m team will feature Billy Ryan (Ferrybank), Fergus Hannon and Owen Mulhall.
While David Gillick will be among the absentees, the men’s 4 x 400m team has some interesting members in young Brian Gregan from Tallaght who is bound for the European under-23 championships, Corkman Brian Murphy who recently ran a new pb and Mick Hogan.
And there will be something of a new look to the women’s 4 x 400m team as well with the return of Marian Andrews (Togher) who missed the European team championships due to injury.
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