THREE YEARS AGO, Cork’s Ciaran O’Lionaird worried that injury might stop him from ever running competitively again.
Now, the only thing he has to worry about is how best to prepare for Saturday’s 1500m World Championship final in Daegu.
The 23-year-old sealed his place in the gold medal event earlier this afternoon with an assured run in the second semi-final, comfortably finishing in sixth place in 3:36.96.
That time guaranteed O’Lionaird’s qualification as one of the two fastest losers, a fact which the Leevale AC man was clearly aware of as he deliberately eased up over the final strides.
“I’m delighted with it,” O’Lionaird told Will Downing immediately after the race.
“Unlike the heat, I knew it was going to be a true-run race, so I just put my nose up in it and tried to stay up the front.
“I’m especially glad that the heat and the semi were two completely different races, so I feel like it’s prepared me for anything now.
I’ve had two races at World Championship level, they’ve been two polar opposites. Going into the final with the experience of both, I’m not just the new guy any more.
There were shocks in both of this afternoon’s semis, however, as the reigning gold and silver medallists were eliminated following disappointing performances.
World champion Yusuf Saad Kamel of Bahrain was pipped to the final automatic qualification spot in the first semi, and then could only watch as his time of 3:47.18 was easily beaten by O’Lionaird and New Zealand’s Nicholas Willis.
Deresse Mekonnen, second in Berlin two years ago, was well off the pace in the Irishman’s semi-final, finishing down the field in 11th place with a time of 3:44.65.
The 12-man final is scheduled for a 12:15 BST start on Saturday afternoon.
