GB’s Kerr and gold medal rival Ingebrigtsen progress

Great Britain’s Josh Kerr and rival Jakob Ingebrigtsen remain on course for their anticipated Olympic gold medal showdown at Paris 2024 after both qualified from their men’s 1500m heats.

Kerr, who beat Olympic champion Ingebrigtsen to win world gold last year, held back before unleashing a fast finish to clock a season’s best three minutes 35.83 seconds in a well attended first morning of athletics inside the Stade de France.

Norwegian Ingebrigtsen clocked 3:37.04 for third in his heat, ahead of Neil Gourley who qualified in fifth (3:37.18) – however British team-mate George Mills must go through a repechage round to reach Sunday’s semi-finals.

Sprinters Dina Asher-Smith, Daryll Neita and Imani-Lara Lansiquot all progressed to the women’s 100m semi-finals, which take place on Saturday with the final following that evening.

However, Morgan Lake, who finished fourth at last year’s World Championships, missed out on the women’s high jump final after a best clearance of 1.88m in qualifying.

A lively atmosphere welcomed the athletes out on to a spectacular purple track at the Stade de France, where later on Friday the first track gold of the Games will be won in the men’s 10,000m.

Several British athletes made successful starts to their respective campaigns, Kerr impressing with his composure as he watched the race unfold from behind before working through the pack and winning with relative ease.

“These are the moments we dream of as kids. To come in with this fitness, you don’t want to let it go very easily,” Kerr told BBC Sport.

“I just need to stay with my head screwed on for the next couple of days and stay away from any problems. I’ll hopefully get through these rounds smoothly and then it’s time to close.”

Gourley ensured he too can look forward to the semi-finals in two days’ time, behind Ingebrigtsen who was determined not to expend more energy than required to make the top six automatic qualifying spots in each heat.

But Mills, who is also entered in the men’s 5,000m, must race again on Saturday in the repechage round – a new introduction at Paris 2024 which allows athletes in all individual events from 200m to 1500m a second chance to progress.

Neita recorded the joint second-fastest time in round one of the women’s 100m, beginning her bid for a first individual global medal by taking victory in a season’s best 10.92secs.

Asher-Smith ran 11.01secs to finish second to Poland’s Iwa Swoboda, who she beat to win European gold in June, while Lansiquot was third in her heat in 11.10secs.

Marie-Josee Ta Lou, of the Ivory Coast, posted the fastest time of the morning in the final heat, running 10.87secs to edge Jamaica’s two-time Olympic 100m gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.92).

That was after American world champion Sha’Carri Richardson took a comfortable win in 10.94secs.

The first evening session of the Olympic athletics programme gets under way from 17:00 BST on Friday.

Ugandan world record holder Joshua Cheptegui will be among the athletes chasing gold in the men’s 10,000m final.

Before then, Great Britain’s gold medal hope Keely Hodgkinson, Tokyo fourth-place finisher Jemma Reekie and teenage sensation Pheobe Gill will each be in action in the women’s 800m heats from 18:45 BST.

GB’s 4x400m mixed relay team are also in action and Scott Lincoln will seek to make the men’s shot put final.