Preston squeezes into semi-finals

James Preston gave his supporters palpitations but squeezed into the 800m semi-finals.

Preston, running in the second of four heats, clocked 1min 48.43s and placed fourth, missing an automatic qualifying spot in the semis.

He had to hope his time held up

over the next two heats and that he could sneak into the semis as one of the four fastest losers. Remarkably, that's what happened. Preston ended up as what might be termed the slowest fastest loser, and claimed the final qualifying spot.

The 29-year-old Christchurch athlete is capable of much faster running. After all, he's the man who in 2024 broke Peter Snell's New Zealand 800m record, set in 1962. It was the longest-standing record in the New Zealand books and one of the longest standing in the wrold.

Snell ran the time on grass at Lancaster Park and it was a world record at the time. Preston beat Snell when he ran 1min 44.04s in a meet in Germany.

It made his slow run in Glasgow somewhat mystifying.

The 800m semi-finalsts are headed by Australian Peter Bol, who ran 1min 45.86s, and there are some big names behind him.

Preston said after his race he felt 'not great'.

While relieved to have got through, he'd cut it a lot closer than he wanted. Since the 2024 Paris Olympics, Preston has been plagued by illness and injury and is hoping he's now in the clear.

'It's been a rough couple of years since Paris. I came over to Europe for this season not in the best health and it took a month to come right. I've had some ups and some downs over here.

'I'm very eager to run well here. You don't take it for granted wearing the black singlet. There's a lot of legacy in that singlet.'

Meanwhile, New Zealand's two representatives in the heptathlon made a fine start to the event.

Briana Stephenson ran 13.67s for the 100m hurdles and managed 1.783m in the high jump to be in fifth spot after two events.

Her countrywoman Maddie Wilson did even better. She was not quick in the hurdles, being timed at only 14.28s. But she more than made amends in the high jump, where her 1.82m effort rocketed her up to second on the leaderboard after two events. With that height, she'd have been a serious factor in the high jump itself, let alone in the heptathlon.

The heptathon comprises seven events.