During the first morning session of the IAAF World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, the British men’s team captain, Josh Kerr (coach: Joe Franklin) comfortably qualified for Thursday’s 1500m final. The European Junior Champion finished third in 3:44.86.

He said “I just had to make sure today. I didn’t want any heroics. I just wanted to get the job done. Now I can go away and recover and go again on Thursday.”

After a tough second heat Archie Davis (Joel Kidger) found himself boxed in on the final bend running wide in an effort to make up ground. The Brighton Phoenix athlete finished in 11th place in 3:54.57 so does not progress.

Rechmial Miller (Ryan Freckleton) and Oliver Bromby (Sara MacDonald-Gray) both progressed in the 100m heats. Bromby, Southampton AC, was second in the first heat slowing up as he crossed the line to finish in 10.52.

He said “It was good to get through but I felt a bit average as it was my first race for a few weeks. I know there is a lot more to come. I need to work on my start and prepare for tomorrow.”

Hercules Wimbledon athlete, Miller was also second in his heat in 10.44. He said “I did enough to qualify which is good. I would have liked a bit more. I gave away too much at the start, probably because of my lane so I need to work on that for the next round. I know I have more to give”.

The semi-finals and the final of the men’s 100m will take place tomorrow afternoon.

There were just two British athletes in action in the evening session where both Hannah Williams (coach: Colin Gaynor) and Lily Beckford (Linford Christie) both progressed in the 400m heats.

Williams, fresh from winning at the English Schools earlier this month, finished second in her heat in 53.85 to progress as an automatic qualifier. The Herts Phoenix athlete was sixth in the World Youth final last year, and made swift progress to advance to the semi-finals.

She spoke afterwards: “It felt ok. I managed to relax through the last 100m so I could save as much energy as I could for the next round. I am glad I got top three especially from the tight lane two.”

Shaftesbury Barnet’s Beckford gained a fastest qualifier place after finishing fifth in 54.70 in a fast final heat.

Beckford commented: “I think I let my nerves get to me as I put pressure on myself. I wanted to prove I could do it rather than enjoying it a bit more. I’ll be more prepared and know what to expect tomorrow. I’ve got those first round nerves out of my system so hopefully I can relax more now.”

The 400m semi-final is on Wednesday afternoon with the final taking place on Thursday.

Earlier in the day in the Long Jump, both Alex Farquharson (Andy Vincent) and Patrick Sylla (Zac Kerin) missed out on progressing finishing 16th and 18th respectively.

Speaking afterwards, Farquharson, who jumped 7.41m, said “The other guys were jumping bigger and mine today just wasn’t big enough. It would have been great to get to the final but it has been an awesome experience. It is the biggest stadium I have ever competed in and the atmosphere was great.”

Sylla jumped 7.36m and said “It has been great to be here. I was gutted my second round was a no jump but it has been good experience to compete with the best in the world and hold my own. It was a good atmosphere, the head wind was disappointing but it is the same for everyone.”

In the 3000m Steeplechase, Sale Harriers, Aimee Pratt (Vicente Modahl) just missed out on qualification for Friday’s final despite a closely-fought final lap finishing in ninth place. She was disappointed and said “My aim was to get to the final. I lost contact with the leading group too early and couldn’t make it up.”

Follow the IAAF World Junior Championships via https://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-u20-championships/iaaf-world-u20-championships-bydgoszcz-2016-5680/live