Irish pair progress in Osaka

Ireland made a good start to the 2007 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Osaka in the early hours of this morning as Wicklow duo Roisin McGettigan and Fionnuala Britton both progressed to the final of the 3,000 metres Steeplechase.

The first Irish athletes into championship action braved the searing 30-degree heat and 64% humidity in the Nagai Stadium.

McGettigan, the national record holder, led from the gun and took the field through the 1,000 metre-mark in 3 minutes 11.54 seconds.

Putting in a controlled performance, the 27-year-old came home in fourth as one of the four automatic qualifiers for Monday's final.

Her time of 9:39.41 was well down on the Irish record she set in Belgium last month but will give her hope for a high placing in the final.

In the third heat, her Sli Chualann club-mate Britton battled her way to seventh place in a quick time of 9:42.38, just a second outside her personal and it was enough for the European U-23 Cross Country silver medallist to go forward as a fastest loser.

Having being knocked out in the heats at the Worlds two years ago, McGettigan admitted she used that experience to her advantage.

"I wasn't going to rely on qualifying as a fastest loser," she said. "That's why I went off quickly and wasn't worried when I found myself at the front. I knew I could finish in the first four and I've achieved what I've wanted to do so far."