Hession through to semi-finals

Paul Hession has completed a very encouraging day for Ireland at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, qualifying for tomorrow evening's 200 metres semi-finals.

It will be the Athenry flyer's second successive semi-final at a major championships, after he reached the same round in the Beijing Olympics.

He finished third to claim the final automatic qualifying spot in his heat at the Olympiastadion, clocking 20.48 seconds - just eight-hundredths slower than his season's best.

Hession's quarter-final heat was loaded with quality. Jamaica's Steve Mullings once again impressed as the winner in 20.23.

The Irish record holder made a strong start and had a better bend than he did this morning, putting himself right in contention in lane six.

Mullings was out on his own and Azerbaijan's Ramil Guliyev and Hession produced the best finishes from the pack to secure second and third respectively.

Brendan Christian, Emmanuel Callander and Stephane Buckland, who had all clocked 20.40 or better previously, were all run out of it - although Christian (20.58) and Callander (20.62) have qualified as fastest losers.

Hession's time has him ranked seventh fastest going into tomorrow's semi-finals, with only Mullings, Alonso Edward, Shawn Crawford, Guliyev, Usain Bolt and Wallace Spearmon ahead of him.

100m champion Bolt eased to a comfortable victory in the first heat in 20.41 seconds, while American Crawford (20.37) and Edward of Panama (20.33) were the other quarter-final winners.

But, disappointingly, Hession has been drawn in lane eight for the second of the semi-finals (6.33pm Irish time).

He will have Callander, Mullings, Guliyev, Spearmon and Britain's Marlon Devonish to his left as he takes to the blocks. The first four home will go through to the final.

Earlier today, Ireland's two-time European indoor champion David Gillick and former World indoor champion Derval O'Rourke also qualified from their 400m and 100m hurdles heats respectively.

Gillick, who recently lowered his Irish record to 44.77, is one of three athletes in tomorrow evening's first semi-final (5.15pm Irish time) to have gone under 45 seconds this year.

The Dubliner, drawn in lane six, will have American star Jeremy Wariner and French speedster Leslie Djhone for company as he strives to be one of the two automatic qualifiers.

O'Rourke has been drawn in the second semi-final for tomorrow night (7.01pm Irish time), alongside in-form Australian Sally McLellan and America's Dawn Harper, and she will need to lower her personal best (12.72) to make the final.