Hession hits the heights in Budapest

On the second day of competition at the European Team Championships 1st League event in Budapest, Paul Hession staged a strong finish to win the 200 metres in a season's best time.

The Athenry flyer hit the line in 20.46 seconds, which makes him the fastest European over the distance so far this year. Britain's Leon Baptiste (20.53) and French sprinter Christophe Lamaitre (20.56) are his closest rivals.

This afternoon's race saw Hession get off to a swift start and maintain his form through the bend before edging out Sweden's Johan Wissman (20.76) and the Czech Republic's Jiri Vojtik (20.92) in a thrilling final 50 metres.

Having run 20.60 in Rome earlier this month, the Irish record holder is coming into peak form ahead of next month's Irish National Championships and the European Championships in Barcelona, which is just five weeks' away.