Hession faces world class field in Golden League
Gay had been lined up for a head-to-head with Asafa Powell, who set the new world record for 100m in Rieti on Sunday, but that fell apart when the double world champion withdrew.
Gay will not compete again this season because he is apparently feeling the physical and mental effects of the recent world championships.
His decision has finally ended speculation that he will go head-to-head this season with Powell.
Usain Bolt (Jamaica), silver medallist in the 200m at the world championships, tops the entry for the 200m with bronze medallist, Wallace Spearmon and Rodney Martin who was fourth (both USA), also included. Hession, Johan Wissman (Sweden) who was seventh in the 400m final in Osaka, Guus Hoogmoed (Holland), Kristof Beyens (Belgium) and Xavier Carter (USA) complete the line-up.
Hession finished fourth at the first Golden League meeting of the season in Oslo when Wissman won the race.
Although still on a high after his 9.74 sec world record in Rieti on Sunday, Asafa Powell was in a relaxed mood when he spoke to the press in Brussels yesterday and he insisted that there is still a lot more in the tank.
“In the series I just ran as I usually do, a lot more relaxed and without pushing myself too hard,” he said.
“Still, I didn’t expect a record immediately, because I kind of slowed down in the final 20 metres.
“In the final I did go all out but the advantage of the wind had disappeared. Maybe my 9.78 back then was my fastest race ever.”
He said he wanted to run the world record at the world championships in Osaka but that Tyson Gay had something of an unnerving affect on him when they went to the line.
“It got to me when Tyson showed up next to me,” he said. “I have to work on that in the future, maybe with the help of a mental coach. Nevertheless, I don’t want to trade my world record for a world title, the record means so much more to me.”
Powell also said he can run faster, insisting that he sprinted at only about 90 per cent in Rieti.
Meanwhile Sanya Richards and Yelena Isinbayeva are the only athletes left in contention for the Golden League Jackpot.
Richards failed to get her place at the 400m in the USA team for the world championships, but she collected a gold medal in the 4x400m relay after finishing fifth in the 200m and last weekend she ran the fastest 400m of the year when she clocked 49.36 secs in Zurich.
“I was disappointed with Osaka, but not extremely disappointed because I’ve been ill this year and I did leave Osaka with a gold medal,” she said yesterday. “I was really intense in Zürich, I really wanted to win that race and stay in the hunt for the jackpot.”
Isinbayeva, one of the most popular athletes on the circuit, had some anxious moments in Zurich before she went on to consolidate her position in the pole vault.
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