Hession eyes sensational season finale at Stuttgart
Since narrowly failing to make the final at the Olympic Games in Beijing, he has been mixing it in the best of company.
“I haven’t taken my foot off the pedal since the Olympics,” he said as he boarded his flight at Dublin Airport yesterday. “Okay, my times have dropped a little bit — 20.61 in Gateshead and 20.65 in Lausanne — but I am very happy with the results.
“I think third in Gateshead gave me the most satisfaction because I beat three Olympic finalists there
“I have no problem mixing in this type of company because I have always believed this is where I belonged. I am already looking forward to next season and what it promises. Of course I am looking forward to Stuttgart because it gives me the opportunity to end a brilliant season on a high note.”
Usain Bolt, the fastest man on the planet, is taking time out for a well-earned rest so he will not be in action over the weekend.
The qualifiers for the finals are decided on points for places in the Grand Prix series throughout the season and, with Bolt missing, Hession ranks third.
The qualified athletes are Brendan Christian, Marlon Devonish, Paul Hession, Bolt’s Jamaican team mate Christian Williams, two Americans Joel Brown and Rodney Martin and the ultra-consistent Brian Dzingai from Zimbabwe, who was fourth in the Olympic final.
“For all intents and purposes this will be my last race of the season. I will run a race in Poland next week but I am looking on that as something of a fun run — no pressure or anything like that,” said Hession.
This particular meeting proved an exciting payday for Ireland’s Roisin McGettigan, who finished third in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase last year and she has qualified again this year — ranked eighth on points.
Alistair Cragg has qualified but he will not be participating. His Arkansas college coach, John McDonnell, retires officially from that post this weekend and there is a party in his honour. He will continue to coach Cragg.
Race walkers Robert Heffernan and Olive Loughnane will also round off very successful seasons at the Grand Challenge finals in Murcia, Spain, tomorrow week.
Since finishing eighth in the men’s 20k walk at the Olympic Games, Heffernan has had a chest infection but he took part in a 10k walk in Spain last weekend.
Both will be hoping to finish in the money at the end of the overall series, which has prize money of $30,000 (€21,000) for the winner down to $5,000 (€3,500) for eighth place.
Sonia O’Sullivan will roll back the years when she lines out in a Villanova vest for the Philadelphia half marathon next month. “It is something like the inter-county challenge run in conjunction with the Great Ireland Run, only it will be the eight colleges in the area competing against each other,” she said. “Marcus (O’Sullivan) contacted me and of course I was only too delighted to take part.”
During the Olympic Games in Beijing one of the athletics websites carried a story saying she was ready to challenge for a place in the Irish team for the 2012 Olympics but she dismissed that this week.
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