Athletics: Alistair Cragg has qualified for Sunday's World Championships indoor final in Moscow but looked a shadow of the runner who won last year's European indoor 3000 metres title.
James Nolan is also through to a final. He comfortably won his 1500 metre heat but there was disappointment for 400m runner David Gillick who failed to progress.
Cragg, the South African-born Irish star, now based in the United States, clinched the last guaranteed place in the final, when he finished fourth in his heat.
Cragg, returning from injury, clocked seven minutes 53.74 seconds, although at one stage he fell back into eighth position.
Former world 5000m outdoor champion Eliud Kipchoge, won in 7:52.57 ahead of Tariku Bekele and Saif Saaeed Shaheen, who produced marks of 7:52.58 and 7:52.85.
Olympic and World 10000m title holder Kenenisa Bekele, comfortably took the second heat in a slightly slower 7:54.85.
The Ethiopian is expected to run a tactical race in the final, helped by his younger brother, to counter the threat of Kipchoge and Shaheen.
Bekele, seemingly ruling out Cragg as a medal challenger, said: "Shaheen and Kipchoge will be my main challengers, but the other athletes like the Moroccans, should not be overlooked."
Later, Nolan comfortably won his heat in the 1500 metres. The UCD athlete set the slowest time (3:44.67 minutes) of the three heats but still did enough to progress to the finals.
But there was disappointment for Gillick in the 400 metres. Having won the European Indoor title a year ago, he failed to progress from the heats today.
He ran in the first of five heats but finished fifth of six athletes in a time of 47.61 seconds, which incidentally, was a season’s best for the Dubliner. California Molefe of Botswana won in a time of 45.74 seconds.
But David McCarthy did progress from the same discipline and into the semi-finals. Running in the final heat, he crossed the line in second spot in 46.68 seconds behind Jamaica’s Davian Clarke.
Emily Maher and Ailis McSweeney, fourth and fifth in their 60m heats with times of 7.38secs and 7.44secs, moved into the evening’s semi-finals.
Both Roisin McGettigan and Maria McCambridge run in tomorrow’s 3000 metre final.