Hession heads Irish charge

THE stars turned up and performed and the others all exceeded what was expected of them as Ireland not only retained First League status but reinforced their position in the table at the European Team Championships in Budapest over the weekend.

Paul Hession posted the fastest time by a European athlete this year when he won the 200m in 20.46 secs, David Gillick equalled his seasonal best of 45.32 secs for second place in the 400m and Thomas Chamney won the 800m in 1:47.86.

Hession’s performance makes him the fastest European over 200m ahead of Leon Baptiste (Great Britain) 20.53, who had a poor run in Bergen yesterday, and Christophe Lamaitre (France) 20.56.