Viljoen qualifies and Cronje not

Cronje, bronze medalist at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, was run out of the 1500m qualifiers by 0.62 seconds in a fast but tactical race that was initially controlled by the Kenyans.

After recording 59.20 for the first 400m, and 1:59 at 800m, Cronje was boxed in mid-pack and forced to leave his kick to coming off the bend.

This left the South African struggling to close the gap and finishing in 8th spot in 3:36.59 behind Kenyan winner Elijah Manangoi who pulled the race to 3:35.00.

Although all 12 runners in the semi-final were faster than Asbel Kiprop who led the first semi-final home in 3:43.48, Cronje was one place out of the fastest loser slot ending his Beijing campaign.

Viljoen reached 63.95m with her first attempt to qualify for Sunday's javelin final.

(File Photo: Gallo Images)

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