No great shocks or surprises in the three semifinals of the men's 4x400 metres relay, ahead of the final event on the programme on Sunday.
In the first race, Bahamas, with the fastest time in the world this year, 2min 59.73sec, won their battle with Jamaica, as the two island teams took the guaranteed qualification slots ahead of Poland, whose 3:00.38 clocking would be good enough for a fastest loser place in the final.
A United States quartet lacking the 400m individual gold and silver medallists from Friday night, Jeremy Wariner and Andrew Rock, still cruised through in 3:00.48, ahead of Trinidad and Tobago. Russia's 3:02.05 for third would also qualify.
The third semi-final was won by a young team from Great Britain, which included the European Junior champion, Martyn Rooney, on the second leg. In a tight race for second position, Mohammed Al Salhi, for the Saudi Arabia team, stormed from fifth to second on the final leg, clocking 3:02.21 for what would have been a national record had they not been disqualified for a takeover infringement. As a consequence, France were promoted to second place and the final.
