Sprinters ready to wrap up ‘best ever’ season
The two Irish sprinters get through on their consistency throughout the Grand Prix series in which Gillick amassed 64 points in the 400m and Hession 54 in the 200m.
While Gillick will be making his debut in the finals this is Hession’s third year in a row. Two years ago he finished eighth and last year he ended up second to newcomer, Stephane Buckland (Mauritius).
“This has been a fantastic year for Irish sprinting, best ever,” Hession said. “Particularly for Derval (O’Rourke) and David (Gillick) and indeed myself. It’s been a brilliant year and it’s onwards and upwards from here.
“I won my first 200m in Bydcoszcz, won in the European cup, Cork City Sports and, of course, Ostrava was my biggest win. I performed quite consistently in that 20.4 – 20.5 region. If I haven’t won races I’ve been pretty highly ranked. I haven’t been below fifth or sixth in any race, even in Golden League or world championships.”
With 54 points he qualified for the World Final in second place behind Wallace Spearmon (58 pts) and ahead of the world and Olympic champion and double world record holder, Usain Bolt (40 pts), who will line up in the lane outside him on Sunday.
“I think 54 points in Grand Prix is very good for me,” Hession said. “London went well and Lausanne was good – I won the B race there but I was third overall – Ostrava I won and I got 10 points and I got 12 points in Brussels last week. It is a good indication of your consistency. This is the last race of the year for me. I will go on holidays for 10 days and then replan for next year and get back training in October some time. The European championships are massive. I have shown in the last three seasons that I can be in the medals in Barcelona or very close. There are a couple of young lads that have come up – the guy from Azerbaijan, Ramil Guliyev, the French guy Martial Mbandjock, and a couple of young Germans – but I know that none of them are unbeatable so I am definitely among the five or six guys who are looking at medals.”
Time ran out for Derval O’Rourke in her bid to get through to the world final. She lost valuable time when she was out of action with a groin injury and then a chest infection in the lead up to the world championships.
The John Buckley Sports Cork Half Marathon, one of the most exciting races on the calendar, will take place on Sunday (11am) and will incorporate the Cork County and Munster Half Marathon Championships. The Race HQ is at Blarney GAA Club where entries will be taken up to 10.30am
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