Everybody has a plan to qualify from the 1,500-metres heats. Until that last kick into the homestretch, when it comes to properly executing it.
There was ample evidence of that on day one of the World Championships, beginning with Ciara Mageean and Sarah Healy both cruising into their semi-finals, as cool as they liked it, even in the rising heat of the Budapest afternoon.
Later in the evening, Andrew Coscoran wasn’t quite cruising, only he got there too – sixth in his race, bang on the qualifying line. Not quite so for the other Irish contenders, Nick Griggs and Luke McCann coming up short.
Sophie O’Sullivan did produce a brilliant lifetime best in her heat, finishing eighth in 4:02.15, just shy of completing the trio – some compensation though, her five-second lifetime best of 4:02.15 makes her an automatic qualifier for the Paris Olympics.
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Saturday’s evening session closed with a suitably thrilling final of the mixed 4x400m relay, one of four World titles up for grabs on the first day. The Irish quartet of Jack Raftery, Sophie Becker, Chris O’Donnell and Sharlene Mawdsley ended up sixth, their best placing in three consecutive global finals, if slightly aided by the disqualification of the Dutch quartet.
In the mad duck for the line with Alexis Holmes from the USA, Femke Bol fell and face-planted on to the track, dropping the baton in the process, and although promptly getting up for third, that meant automatic disqualification.
So USA took gold in a world record of 3:08.80, the Irish quartet again benefiting from a brilliant final leg from Mawdsley, who moved them up from ninth to seventh with her 50.02 final split, before they were promoted to sixth, their time of 3:14.13 slightly off the 3:13.90 they ran earlier in the day in qualifying,
Indeed it was a night of double Dutch face-planting, with Sifan Hassan suffering a similar fate to Bol in the sprint finish of the women’s 10,000m: locked in battle with Gudaf Tsegay from Ethiopia for gold, she similarly lost her footing. Tsegay winning in 31:27.18, while Hassan, seeking a distance treble, hobbled home in 11th.
Earlier, Mageean did all she needed to do in the last of the four 1,500m heats, easing across the line in third – sealing one of the top-six automatic qualifying spots, finishing in 4:03.53, right on the heels of Hirut Meshesha of Ethiopia (4:03.47).
“I came here to get the job done and that’s the first round ticked off,” said Mageean. “It’s a different animal, racing championships, with race after race. You want to leave nothing to chance.”
With the fastest-loser route no longer operating in the distance running events, there was little room for error, and Healy made sure of her place in heat two, the 22-year-old delivering her best championship performance yet to also nail third in 4:03.00 (the win there going to red-hot gold medal favourite Faith Kipyegon from Kenya, in 4:02.62).
Marginally detached from the top six at the bell, O’Sullivan made a superb surge over her last 200m, putting herself in that top six in the homestretch sprint, only to drop back in the final duck and dive to the line.
“I did all I could do, and I put myself in that spot, in that last 100m, where I could have been there,” O’Sullivan said. “But that’s the fastest I’ve ever run, the best shot I could have given myself, so I’ll just have to come back another time.”
Those 1,500m semi-finals take place Sunday afternoon, where again only the top-six in each will progress, positions again counting for everything.
“Yeah, happy enough, it was fine,” Coscoran said of his qualifying run. “Obviously it was all about progressing through the heats. It was a tactical affair, we went out pretty fast, then it slowed down, there was a lot of shuffling, and barging and pushing, so it’s always difficult.
“Now it’s go home, put the legs up, get a bit of sleep then wake up tomorrow and start thinking about the semis.”
Abel Kipsang, who took it from the gun, won in 3:34.08 The opening heat saw Griggs, still only 18, line up alongside Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the Olympic champion looking to add a World 1,500m title to his name on the third attempt.
It will take something special to deny him, Ingebrigtsen winning in 3:33.94, the fastest heat in the 40-year history of the World Championships, while Griggs, struck down with illness overnight, battled hard as ever to finish 12th in 3:40.72.
McCann gave himself a magnificent chance to qualify from heat two, moving from the back of the field up to third into that homestretch, only to find himself narrowly overtaken on both sides, ending up 10th, his 3:47.48 just 0.71. off heat winner Mario Garcia from Spain
“Even coming into the straight, I thought I’ve got this done, in third place, the man in front of me was looking behind,” McCann said. “Then in the last 50m I just lost it, which is really frustrating, even if it is my first outdoor Worlds, I really should have been getting through out there.”
Kate O’Connor got off to the proverbial flying start in the heptathlon, running a new lifetime best of 13.57 seconds in the 100m hurdles, good enough for third place in heat three.
She followed that with another excellent show in the high jump, clearing 1.80 metres, just shy of her best of 1.81m, before just falling short of 1.83m, at her third attempt.
Losing a little ground in the shot put later in the evening, 11th in her group with a best throw of 13.47m, before running 24.78 in the 200m, she’ll head into Sunday with 3684 points, 11th best behind Anna Hall of the USA (3998).
Earlier in the shot put qualifying, Eric Favors found himself some distance short, finishing 13th in the Group A field of 19 throws, with a best of 19.65m. In the rain-delayed 20km walk, David Kenny found it hard going from that start, drifting to the very back and eventually dropping out just after the 15km mark.
Sunday’s morning session turns the spotlight on Rhasidat Adeleke, drawn in fifth of six heats, her 49.20 the only sub-50 clocking in the field; the top three, plus the six fastest losers, progress to Monday’s semi-finals.
SUNDAY SCHEDULE (Irish times)
06:15 – Women’s 20km race walk – Final
08:00 – Women’s discus throw – Qualification A
08:35 – Women’s 400m – Heats (Rhasidat Adeleke, Sharlene Mawdsley)
08:50 – Women’s heptathlon – Long jump (Kate O’Connor)
9:25 – Men’s 400m – Heats (Chris O’Donnell)
9:30 – Women’s discus throw – Qualification B
9:35 – Men’s high jump – Qualification
10:25 – Men’s 400m hurdles – Heats
11:00 – Women’s heptathlon – Javelin throw A
11:10 – Women’s 100m – Heats
12:05 – Men’s 110m hurdles – Heats
12:05 – Women’s heptathlon – Javelin throw B
15:35 – Men’s 100m – Semi-finals
15:55 – Women’s long jump – Final
16:05 – Women’s 1500m – Semi-finals (Ciara Mageean, Sarah Healy)
16:35 – Men’s 1500m – Semi-finals (Andrew Coscoran)
16:50 – Men’s hammer throw – Final
17:00 – Women’s heptathlon – 800m (final)
17:25 – Men’s 10,000m – Final
18:10 – Men’s 100m – Final
