Hession reflects on sixth-place finish

There were no excuses from Paul Hession after he finished a disappointing sixth in tonight's 200m final at the European Championships.

With the winter gym sessions and a steady summer of top level racing behind him, Hession had targeted the Barcelona event as part of 'a big year' for him.

But there was no reward for the hard-working Irish record holder on the Olympic Stadium track, as he faded to sixth down the home straight, finishing in 20.71 seconds.

He ran a cracking bend to put himself in contention for a medal, tracking Britain's Christian Malcolm who headed the field at that stage.

Hession was briefly fourth before being overhauled in the closing 50 metres, something which will nag at him as the final part of the race is usually one of his strongest.

France's Christophe Lemaitre, the new darling of European sprinting, rallied remarkably in the closing 20 metres to pip Malcolm for the gold, in 20.37 seconds.

The 20-year-old used his lanky frame to outdip the Briton and complete a superb 100-200 double at the Championships.

Malcolm clocked 20.38 for silver and Lemaitre French's compatriot Martial Mbandjock got up for the bronze (20.42), as he did in the 100m final.

Adding to the sense of frustration, Hession holds a personal best of 20.30 and has run 20.46 this year. Had he bettered those times, a medal was there for the taking.

The 27-year-old admitted afterwards that he could not have done much more, in terms of putting himself in the shake-up.

"It was a funny race and it is windy out there," he said.

"I did all I can and I put the work in. I'm not going to be as hard on myself as I was last year (when I didn't qualify for the World final).

"The last 50 metres was disappointing but I thought I ran better today than yesterday. I did all I can."

Niamh Whelan is certainly a sprinter for the future and she almost ran a personal best when finishing sixth in her 200m semi-final tonight.

The Ferrybank athlete, who turned 20 just last Monday, clocked 23.31 from lane two, which was just one hundredth away from her best ever time.

Qualification for the final proved beyond her, but her enthusiasm was obvious when speaking afterwards.

"I'm delighted. I didn't think I had that in my legs after (qualifying from the heat) this morning," she admitted.

Meanwhile, Wicklow woman Fionnuala Britton claimed 11th in the 3000m steeplechase final.

Britton came home in 9:44.25, with Russia's Yuliya Zarudneva (9:17.57) getting the better of home favourite Marta Dominguez (9:17.74) in a terrific tussle for the gold medal.

Zarudneva's time was a new Championship record.