Paul Hession

Paul Hession (born January 27, 1983 in Athenry, Galway) is an Irish international track and field athlete. Hession is a sprinter and specialises in the 200 metres. He has won silver and bronze medals at the World University Games and in 2007 made the leap into world class by setting 4 Irish national records at 100 and 200 metres. He is dubbed as "The Fastest Man in Ireland".

Career

After competing in the World Junior Championships (Athletics) in 2002, Hession made his major championship debut for Ireland the same year, at the 2002 European Championships where he finished 7th in his heat in a time of 21.28. The following year Hession missed the World Championships but was rewarded with silver medal in the 200m at the World University Games. Two years later Hession won bronze in the 2005 edition. He followed this up with a disappointing run in his first World Athletics Championship. In the 2006 European Championships Hession ran poorly in the semi final and with a time of 20.80 was eliminated.

In 2007, Hession broke his first Irish national record by running the 100m in 10.28 in Kalamata. Only three weeks later he lowered the record to 10.18 in Vaasa. When Hession stepped up to his preferred distance of 200m he again broke the Irish record twice. First running 20.44 in the Sheffield Grand prix, and then 20.30 in the Irish national championships in Dublin.

Hession competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He trained in Japan in the build-up. On August 18, he won his 200m quarter final to qualify for the semi-final in a time of 20.32, just after Usain Bolt had a time of 20.29. In the semi-final he finished fifth in a time of 20.38 however he missed out on a place in the final as only the top four qualify.

External links

* [http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?page_id=618] Hession's Page on the Athletics Association of Ireland Web Page