Benjamin hits form to reach semis

25 August - 2 September

Welshman Tim Benjamin rediscovered his best form to reach the 400m semi-finals at the World Championships in Japan.

The 25-year-old, back after an ankle injury, booked his place in Wednesday's semis with a time of 45.44 seconds.

"It's not my goal achieved," said Benjamin. "If I can go under 45 seconds and get into the final, that's great."

Team-mates Martyn Rooney (45.47) and Andrew Steele (45.54) failed to advance with Rooney missing out on a fastest losers' spot by 0.3 of a second.

Benjamin's build-up to the Worlds was hampered by an ankle injury and his training was also affected when he split from coach Colin Jackson last month.

The Cardiff runner only secured his place in the squad for Osaka after running 45.38 at the London Grand Prix earlier this month, but now he is ready to push on.

"I am pleased to have done that from lane one," said Benjamin.

"I have had a poor preparation. I made some coaching decisions that just didn't work out and also because of injury so hopefully I can put that behind me.

"The competition this year is the toughest Championships I have been it by far. I'm going to have to go all out in the semi-final, that time is not going to get me through."

American LaShawn Merritt was the fastest man through to the next round in 44.78 while defending champion Jeremy Wariner eased through in 45.10.

"I shut it down at 250m. So, you'll see about it on Wednesday," he said. "I'm ready to go in the semis. The track is so fast."

Newly crowned 100m champion Tyson Gay was back in action in the 200m heats, easing into the quarter-finals in 20.46 seconds.

"I felt pretty sluggish," said the American, who won the 100m on Sunday. "I didn't want to run this fast, but my competitors are tough."

Gay returns to the track for the quarters later when the evening session resumes at 1130 BST.

There are six finals, including world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva going in the pole vault and a competitive women's 800m.

Tirunesh Dibaba is considering shelving her plans to defend her 5,000m title because of stomach cramps.

The Ethiopian successfully claimed a second 10,000m crown on Saturday but may withdraw from Wednesday's 5,000m heats.

Source: BBC Sport