Yuriy Borzakovskiy of Russia raced into the final of the men's 800 metres at the World Athletics Championships in France on Friday posting the best time in the semi-final heats.
In clocking 1:45.31 seconds, the European Cup champion of 1999 and 2002 beat the fancied Wilson Kipketer of Denmark to win a fast first semi-final.
The Kenya-born Kipketer, who moved to Demnark in 1980, was timed at 1:45.50 seconds.
The hot pace of the heat also helped Justus Koech of Kenya and Brazil's Osmar Barbosa dos Santos, who finished third and fourth in 1:46.04 and 1:46.07, respectively, to qualify as the two fastest losers.
The other two heats were relatively slower.
Following is the line-up for the final, with timings registered in the semi-finals:
| Yuriy Borzakovskiy | RUS | 1:45.31 |
| Wilson Kipketer | DEN | 1:45.50 |
| Justus Koech | KEN | 1:46.04 |
| Osmar Barbosa dos Santos | BRA | 1:46.07 |
| Andrea Longo | ITA | 1:46.26 |
| Mbulaeni Mulaudzi | RSA | 1:46.31 |
| Djabir Saïd-Guerni | ALG | 1:46.36 |
| Hezekiél Sepeng | RSA | 1:46.43 |
Photograph: Getty Images
