Jenny Meadows and Marilyn Okoro turned back the clock on Monday evening by becoming the first British women to reach a global championship 800 metres final since Dame Kelly Holmes triumphed at the 2004 Olympics.
The pair underlined the resurgence of women's middle-distance running in Britain by finishing second in their heats to make tomorrow's final, though Jemma Simpson, winner of last month's UK trials, was disappointed to be eliminated in fifth place.
Kenya's Olympic champion, Pamela Jelimo, also went out after pulling up with an injury midway through her heat.
Okoro enjoyed the easier passage, finishing in 2min 1.01sec in a slow-run heat, while Meadows produced a typically gutsy performance to squeeze past Kenya's Janeth Jepkosgei Busienei on the finish line in 1min 59.45sec after running a poor tactical race. "I made a pig's ear of it," she admitted. "I ran into the back of everybody and got myself boxed but I was only a few metres off the pace and I still felt very strong. I just took the decision to run the last 200m extremely wide."
She added: "There's no one prouder than myself to make the final. I've worked so hard from the age of seven and I thought it would never come. It's fantastic and to see Marilyn qualify and have two Brits in the final is what the event has promised for a couple of years. It's such a good event in Britain."
Their team-mates, James Brewer and Andy Baddeley, were unable to emulate them, both going out of the 1500m at the semi-final stage, though 21-year-old Brewer showed plenty of promise as he narrowly missed out on a fastest loser's spot in 3min 37.27sec.
Two other potential stars, Perri Shakes-Drayton and Eilidh Child, both qualified for the 400m hurdles semi-finals in their first senior championship.
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