ATHLETICS: PAUL HESSION earned himself a tidy €14,000 yesterday when finishing second at the IAAF World Athletics final in Stuttgart.

On easily the biggest payday of his career, Hession took second in the 200 metres in 20.58 seconds - missing out on the top prize by the narrowest of margins, writes Ian O'Riordan.

Victory went to Stéphane Buckland of Mauritius in 20.57, who thus secured the winners' €21,000, although Hession very nearly nicked it on the finish line.

Although running in lane eight, the Galway athlete finished like an express train and moved from fifth to second inside the last 50 metres, falling just short of the win on the dip for the line - with Buckland in the lane just inside him.

Coming into the straight, Brendan Christian of Antigua looked the most likely winner, but he faded badly and ended up third in 20.61, with the Jamaican Christopher Williams fourth in 20.66.

Hession beat several other big names; the American Rodney Martin was only fifth (20.66) and Brian Dzingai of Zimbabwe, who finished fourth at the Beijing Olympics, was sixth on this occasion.

The World Athletics final is effectively the IAAF end-of-season payday, with just over €2 million on offer across the 36 events - with prizes down the line to €5,600 for eighth. Only the top athletes are invited on the basis of IAAF Grand Prix rankings, and Hession was the sole Irish representative over the two-day event.

It was a deserving end to what had already been a rewarding season for the 25-year-old, who was just one place short of making the Olympic final. His consistency is now his strength, and although he's not particularly fond of the term, right now he is the fastest white man in the world.

Among the big financial winners over the weekend was Ethiopia's Meseret Defar, who won both the 3,000 and 5,000 metres and thus earned herself €42,000, with the American Sanya Richards also pulling off the double over 200 and 400 metres.

While Usain Bolt skipped the event in favour of a Jamaican Olympic homecoming, team-mate Asafa Powell won the 100 metres in a cool 9.87 seconds. In the 400 metres, American LaShawn Merritt confirmed his dominance over his compatriot Jeremy Wariner with another close victory - 44.50 to Wariner's 44.51.

The biggest winner of all was the Czech javelin thrower Barbora Spotáková, whose world-record throw of 72.28 metres added a €70,000 bonus to her €21,000.