Namibiaâ??s Agnes Samaria qualified for the final of the womenâ??s 1500m at the World Athletics Championships after coming fourth in her semifinal heat on Friday, August 31.
In a tight finish to the race, the first five athletes all finished within a second of each other, but Samaria managed to qualify for the final after finishing fourth in a time of 4:15,36.
The heat was won by Maryam Jusuf Jamal of Brunei in a time of 4:14,86, followed by two Russian athletes, Nataliya Panteleva (4:15,22) and Yuliya Fomenko (4:15,28).
Samaria and the fifth placed athlete, Nataliya Tobias of Ukraine, who finished in a time of 4:15,43 all qualified for the final.
Second semifinal much faster
The second semifinal was much faster, with all 12 athletes recording faster times than the winner of the first heat. Due to the rules, however, only the first seven athletes qualified for the final.
The second semifinal was won by Irinya Lishchynska of Ukraine in a time of 4:03,84, followed by Yelena Soboleva of Russia (4:03,87) and Viola Kibiwot of Kenya (4:03,97).
Daniela Yordanova of Bulgaria came fourth in 4:04,19, while the other qualifiers were Mariem Selsouli of Morocco (4:05,25), Lidia Chojecka of Poland (4:05,80) and Iris Fuentes-Pila of Spain (4:06,99).
The womenâ??s 1500m final is due to take place on Sunday, September 2 at 14h10 Namibian time.