Paul Hession represented Ireland in the men’s 200 metres at two Olympic Games – reaching the semi-finals at Beijing 2008 and competing in the heats at London 2012.

From Athenry, Co. Galway, and a lifelong member of Athenry AC, Hession is the fastest Irishman in history over 200 metres, holding the Irish record of 20.30 seconds set at the national championships in Santry in July 2007 – a year in which he broke four Irish national records at 100 metres and 200 metres.

He put his medical studies at NUI Galway on hold to pursue athletics full-time and, in 2007, made the leap into genuine world-class sprinting. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics he won his quarter-final heat in 20.32 seconds – in the same race as Usain Bolt, who ran 20.29 – before finishing 10th in the semi-final, narrowly missing the final. He was named Irish Athletics Athlete of the Year for 2008 and won silver at the World Athletics Final that same season. He finished 12th at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka and 10th at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, each time agonisingly close to a global 200 metres final.

He achieved that milestone at the 2010 European Championships in Barcelona, becoming the first Irishman ever to qualify for the 200 metres final at a European Championships and finishing 6th in 20.71 seconds. He competed at London 2012 but did not advance from the heats. He won silver at the 2003 World University Games and bronze at the 2005 edition. He subsequently completed his medical degree at NUI Galway in 2014 and works as a doctor at Temple Street Children’s Hospital in Dublin.