Hession and Cuddihy back among big guns at Brussels Golden League meet
Joanne Cuddihy is also likely to be in Belgium to run in the 400m while Derval O’Rourke will take a long overdue holiday and will not race again this season. Hession said yesterday he was looking forward to his Brussels Golden League debut. “I don’t know what lane I will get or anything like that, but it doesn’t really matter,” he said. “I am just looking forward to competing at the meeting.”
He was offered a place in the line-up following his exciting performances at the world championships in Osaka when he finished second to Rodney Martin (US) in the first round of the men’s 200m in 20.46. He followed that up by winning his second round heat in 20.50 secs, beating most of the top Europeans and the high-flying Australian, Patrick Johnson, who has Irish roots.
He lined up with Tyson Gay of the US, who would eventually go on to complete the sprint double, in the semi-finals of the 200m and, despite running what he rated a poor bend, he finished sixth in 20.50 secs to highlight the consistency which is a feature of his running.
“Overall it has been a great year for me,” he said. “I have set seven Irish records and four of those were over 60m indoors.”
He broke the 60m record four times, the 100m record twice, before finally ending the eight-year-old national 200m record when he ran 20.30 secs to retain his title at the national championships.
“I don’t know if I will do an indoor season next year,” he said. “I think I have probably got all I needed to from of it. But, obviously, we will consider everything when we sit down to review the year and plan for next year.”
David Gillick is another who will have plenty to reflect on. He, too, set a national 400m record at 45.23 secs in his second race of the season. He finished third in his first round heat in 45.35 secs to gain automatic qualification for the semi-finals of the 400m. He was again drawn with the world and Olympic champion, Jeremy Wariner, in his semi-final and finished sixth in 45.37 secs.
“I am right up there with the big boys and it is just a matter of getting stronger so that I can handle the rounds,” he said. “It gives us something to work on over the winter and I am looking forward to that.”
He is eyeing a race in Italy over the coming weeks and so, too, is 800m runner, David Campbell.
He was ill for five days leading up to the 800m heats — with team doctor, Dr Bill Cuddihy, putting him on a drip the morning of the race. Yet he posted his second fastest time at 1:46.47.
The athletes who competed in Osaka have raised the bar in advance of next year’s Olympic Games in Beijing.
“In fact, they have created more pressure by the manner in which they have competed here,” team manager, Patsy McGonagle, said. “They are now talking about making finals and I expect that some people will be talking about medals before too long. But we have to be realistic, go home and review the situation and then set our targets. One could only be impressed with the whole attitude of the Irish team here. There was such confidence, optimism and camaraderie among the team. I have never experienced anything like it before.
“It leaves us with a very strong foundation to build on for the future. We have tremendous support now from the Irish Sports Council and the Institute of Sport and I feel we are going up and up from here.”
Having been through it all before as chief coach to the British teams for the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, Max Jones, Athletics Ireland’s new Director of Athletics, is not a man to get overexcited. But he was full of praise for the young Irish team in Osaka where Robert Heffernan finished sixth in the 20k walk and Eileen O’Keeffe opened up a new chapter in the history of Irish athletics by finishing sixth in the final of the women’s hammer.
“Eileen O’Keeffe is the best amateur women’s hammer thrower in the world,” he said.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
