For the first time since the world athletics championships began in 1983, Britain will have a finalist in the hammer, an event dominated in recent years by throwers from Japan and the former countries of the Soviet Union.
Nick Miller, from Carlisle but now based in Oklahoma, was the second best qualifier with a heave of 77.42 metres, only 0.12 metres short of the UK record set by Martin Girvan in 1984. Only 22 years old in an event in which competitors mature with age, Miller has the brightest of futures after his performance yesterday. He gave evidence last year of his potential when he took a silver medal in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
He said afterwards: ”Today went well. It was exactly what I needed to do, just the same as I have been doing in training all week. I am very happy. But I will not try to think about it too much as now everything depends on the final tomorrow. “He added that he did not look around at the competition or the stadium, just focussing on the concrete circle “which feels the same to me wherever I am.”
In the 100 metres, both C.J. Ujah, the UK champion, and Richard Kilty, the 2014 world 60 metres indoor champion, reached the semi-finals. Ujah did 10.05 seconds to finish second in his heat to the new American star Travyon Bromell, who cruised to victory in 9.91 seconds, while Kilty got through as one of the fastest losers when he finished fourth in his heat in 10.12 seconds.
Kilty has been plagued by injuries this season and said afterwards:”I was just a bit rusty coming back from my hamstring”(injury).”I was stood on the start-line and I had it in my mind wondering if it was going to be alright running flat-out. Thankfully it was fine. It was my first race back from injury so I can’t complain too much.” However, James Dasaolu, who has the fastest personal best of the trio, failed to progress after he foolishly slowed down, looked to his right and was edged out of third place, which would automatically have qualified him.
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The heats of the men’s 400 metres hurdles had begun with a disappointment because Jack Green, the 2011 world champion from Wales, had to withdraw because of sciatica. However, Niall Flannery ran a well-judged race to reach the semi-final with a season’s best time of 48.90 seconds. He was leading over the final hurdle, only for the American Kerron Clement to overhaul him on the run-in.
Both Laura Muir and Laura Weightman safely qualified for the semi-finals of the women’s 1500 metres. However, Weightman, who had such an excellent season in 2014 with medals in both Commonwealth Games and European Championships, collapsed at the finish, falling head first onto the track. Although she got up, she grazed both her face and a shoulder and went straight off for treatment. She did 4 minutes 06.13 seconds in a race won by the Ethiopian favourite Genzebe Dibaba.
Muir, who combines top-class athletics with studying to be a vet, ran sensibly and qualified in second place in 4 minutes 05.53 seconds, almost seven seconds slower than her personal best which she set in Monaco earlier this summer. She said afterwards: ”I am really pleased with the way I did it and I am looking forward to tomorrow. I just stayed at the back out of trouble and let things settle down and then came through when things started to speed up a bit.” Both of Britain’s 800 metre runners, Kyle Langford nor Michael Rimmer, failed to progress.