Qualification proves beyond Byrne

Irish champion Deirdre Byrne has failed to qualify from today's 1,500 metres heats at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin.

She settled well and was in the middle of the pack over a slow, first three laps.

However, the Sli Cualann athlete was burned off during a helter-skelter final 400m and finished 11th in a time of 4 minutes, 12.19 seconds.

A time close to her personal best of 4:08.89 would most likely have got her through, with the first six finishers qualifying automatically for Friday's semi-finals.

Later this evening at the Olympiastadion, 100m hurdler Derval O'Rourke will open her Championship campaign (5.24pm Irish time).

The Cork woman has had a tough draw with some top quality opposition joining her in the third of five heats.

The first four home - plus a handful of fastest losers - will qualify for tomorrow's semi-finals, with O'Rourke ranked the joint-fourth fastest (12.90 seconds) in her heat based on 2009 form.

Her main rivals for a qualifying spot will be Australia's Sally McLellan, Russia's Yuliya Kondakova, Lucie Skrobakova of the Czech Republic and America's Michelle Perry, the two-time World champion.

In the 200 metres, Athenry flyer Paul Hession will go in the third of tonight's four quarter-final races at 6.09pm Irish time.

Hession was a comfortable qualifier from this morning's heats, running 20.66 for second place behind Jamaica's Steve Mullings.

He will line up against Mullings once again this evening, but will face increased competition and will most probably have to better his season's best to progress.

Hession has been drawn in lane six, with Mullings, Stephane Buckland (Mauritius), Brendan Christian (Antigua & Barbuda) and Ramil Guliyev (Azerbaijan) all clocking faster times than him so far this year.

Only the first three finishers in each heat plus the four fastest losers across the four quarter-finals will make it through to tomorrow's semi-finals.