World Athletics Championships 2019: day one – as it happened

That’s all from me today. I’ll be back tomorrow, where the men’s 100 metres will conclude and Dina Asher-Smith will make her long-awaited first appearance in the women’s 200 metres heats. Exciting times.

And here is Sean Ingle’s report from Doha.

Teenage sensation Jakob Ingebrigtsen has been disqualified from the 5000m final after stepping out of bounds during the first heat. It seems like he may have been pushed and there may yet be another appeal, but as it stands Britain’s Andrew Butchart has qualified in his place for the 5000m final.

Michael Johnson on the 100m favourite Christian Coleman:

Given what we’ve seen now, I just can’t see that anyone is going to be able to run with him when we get to the final because he is the class of the field.

Chris McAlister couldn’t really believe it:

It’s an awesome feeling. I’m a worlds semifinalist! That’s not gonna sink in for a long time. I’ve come a long way this year — I wasn’t really expecting this but it’s awesome.

McAlister will likely have to run a personal best to advance further, but he’s ready for it.

I think it’s there to be honest. I messed up a little bit today. Still got my strides in but it was good — good fight and good fun.

Britain’s Chris McAlister produces a spirited run to reach the 400m semi-final. And what a run it was. 15 metres from the line in heat 5, McAlister was miles away from fourth place. But as Turkey’s Yasmani Copello relaxed, McAlister fought hard, dipped harder and beat him on the line in 49.73. We’re in 2019 and athletes are still failing to dip on the line. Madness.

Elsewhere, Rai Benjamin, the third titan of 400m hurdles, eased through the fourth heat in 49.62.

The sound of crickets when Abderrahman Samba was announced to his home crowd was an amusing reflection of how few home fans are in the arena, but Samba’s measured 49.08 win in heat 3 was no joke. TJ Holmes of United States blew out of the blocks so quickly and led for most of the race, but both Samba and Japan’s Takatoshi Abe calmly caught him by the end.

Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands takes the second 400m hurdles heat with a time of 49.60. Another of the big talents, home star Abderrahman Samba, will be in the third heat. Samba has a personal best of 46.98 and he is Qatar’s big medal hope but he comes with some injury doubts. We’ll see.

Some quick maths.

In one of the least surprising results of the day, Karsten Warholm eases through the first 400m hurdles heat in 49.27. Good work from Thomas Barr of Ireland to move through in second place with a time of 49.41. The first four advance to tomorrow’s semis.

Meanwhile, Jakob Ingebrigtsen has been confirmed in the 5000m final.

It’s time for the final track event of the session, and easily one of the most exciting. The men’s 400m hurdles event will feature three of the four fastest of all time, starting with the world leader Karsten Warholm.

Paul Chelimo wins a gritty, tight second 5000m heat with a time of 13:20.18. Both Filip and Henrik Ingebrigtsen are through in this heat, and the two brothers are determined to show the whole world how happy they are about it. However, there is some doubt over the first heat after Jakob Ingebrigtsen took a few steps out of bounds during the race. If Jakob goes out, Andrew Butchart gets in as a fast loser.

Beautiful.

Meanwhile, the men’s triple jump is being led by Pedro Pablo Pichardo of Portugal with a distance of 17.38m. World and Olympic champion Christian Taylor of the United States isn’t having his greatest day at the office, but his mark of 16.99m still leaves him in third place despite being short of the 17.10m automatic qualifying mark. It must be nice to know that your average day is still that good.

What a brutal battle in the first men’s 5000m heat. Salemon Barega takes it in 13:24.69 with just a second separating the first six finishers. Unfortunately, it was Britain’s Andrew Butchart who was run out in seventh and will have to wait to see if he gets in as a fast loser.

But the moment was stolen far from the front. By the final lap, Jonathan Busby of Aruba could barely stand upright, let alone run, but Guinea Bissau’s Braima Suncar Dabo put an arm around his colleague and carried him 120 metres to the finishing line. They finished almost 5 minutes later and it was lovely.

After Hyvin Kiyeng of Kenya won the final women’s 3000m steeplechase heat in 9:29.15, it’s time for some men’s 5000m heats. Andrew Butchart and Marc Scott are the British runners in the first heat. With no British qualifiers in the steeplechase, we’ll see what he can do in this stacked race including formidable athletes like Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Mohammed Ahmed, Birhanu Balew and Salemon Barega.

In the women’s high jump qualifying, Britain’s Morgan Lake is out of qualifying after three fails at 1.89m. Heavy favourite Mariya Lasitskene also surprisingly failed to clear her first attempt of 1.89m, but she got it done on her second turn.

Beatrice Chepkoech of Kenya wins the second women’s 3000m steeplechase heat in 9:18.01. In another brutal heat, in which four women ran under 9:19, Britain’s Elizabeth Bird takes 6 seconds off her personal best with a time of 9:30.13, finishing in sixth. Rosie Clarke will be Britain’s final entry in the third heat.

The formidable trio of Peruth Chemutai, Emma Coburn and Celliphine Chepteek Chespol eased through in heat one of the steeplechase. Good work for 21 year-old Brit Aimee Pratt, who left with a personal best of 9:38.91. She spoke to the BBC afterwards:

I’m definitely aiming to qualify [for Tokyo 2020]. I’m not that far away. It’s definitely achievable within the year. I just have to stay healthy and injury free.

Holly Bradshaw finally gets her tracksuit off and enters the pole vault qualifying, clearing 4.60m at the first opportunity with ease. With just one vault today, she’s into the final. That’s how you do it.

Elsewhere, the women’s high jump is underway and Britain’s Morgan Lake is safely through her first jump of 1.80.

It’s time for a few 3000m steeplechase heats. Britain’s Aimee Pratt will be in the first heat alongside the 2017 world champion Emma Coburn. Celliphine Chepteek Chespol of Kenya and Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai will also be ones to watch in this first heat.

Some great news for Britain’s Ojie Edoburun, who lives to fight another day by taking the final qualifying place with his time of 10.23.

We can conclude that this will not be the magical innovation that brings an army of new fans to athletics.

Christian Coleman, fastest man in the world this year, is the first man to produce a sub-10 time in Doha by winning heat 6 in 9.98 seconds. That was a message that the rest of the field undoubtedly heard. He looks more than ready.

Paulo Andre Camilo de Oliveira of Brazil takes heat 5 with a time of 10.11. Now, it’s time to see how Christian Coleman is looking in the final heat. He’s up against two other athletes who have dipped under 10 seconds this year, Abdul Hakim Sani Brown of Japan and Mario Burke of Barbados.

Meanwhile on the field, women’s pole vault is underway but the ever-present Holly Bradshaw is just chilling on the ground. It looks fun. The Brit comes in with the joint fourth highest season best of 4.81m and she won’t join until 4.60. We’re at 4.50 now.

Yohan Blake and Jimmy Vicaut, two talented and injury-affected big sprinters, take the top two places of Heat 4 in 10.07 and 10.08.

He certainly looked well prepared today.

Amusingly, Zharnel Hughes said he was shivering in the air-conditioned stadium after training in the heat. He put his slow start down to the starting blocks:

I have to be aware of the block settings. It was a bit different from the one that I’m currently using. But I won’t let that hamper me and I’m looking forward to the next rounds.

Zharnel Hughes waltzes into the semis in first place with 10.08. Hugues had a pretty dire start and was lagging early on, but he tore through to finish first. Impressive.

Gemili said he was clashing hands with Aussie Rohan Browning through the race, but he’s happy:

It was more like a semifinal, the people in that field. World championships, it’s never going to be easy but glad to be through... Badly executed run but stuff to work on!

He ended with a shrug. He is not wrong.

Justin Gatlin takes the second 100m heat in 10.06. Solid run from Adam Gemili to qualify in third with 10.19. Gemili didn’t seem to react well to the gun but he came through well and remained calm.

This will be a tough, tough heat 2 for Adam Gemili. Justin Gatlin, Andre De Grasse, Tyquendo Tracey and Usheoritse Itsekiri have all run faster than his 10.04 this year. Stacked.

Akani Simbine of South Africa eases through the first heat in 10.01. That was quite impressive. However, it was a tough race for Britain’s Ojie Edoburun, who started well but fell away to finish in 5th in 10.23. It will be tough to see him advance.

It’s almost time for the 100m heats. Here is some required reading on the fastest man of 2019, USA’s Christian Coleman, who missed three drug tests and just avoided a ban on a technicality.

What a ragged race. It was a slow, slow start with a 63 second opening lap. Up until 50 metres to go, Sharp looked comfortable on the shoulder of Renelle Lamote. But as Rose Mary Almanza and Rababe Arafi kicked for the finish, Sharp just had nothing and was passed by both. Sharp’s time of 2:03.57 will not be enough. What a surprise - Sharp had highest season best of her heat by quite a distance.

Lynsey Sharp is out of the World Championships!

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Despite the scare, Bell chuckled as she talked to the BBC:

Nothing like a bit of excitement get the party started! I got myself in a bad position with 200 to go... I got to the 100 there was nowhere to go so I made the move to go wide and just relied on myself and my sprint finish... I’ll have a look back at where I went wrong and bring something better tomorrow.

Britain’s Alexandra bell qualifies for the semi-final by the skin of her neck in third place. What a messy race that was! With about 200 metres to go, Bell was far back in the pack and blocked in, but eventually she decided to veer wide of the group and she sprinted through to snatch third place at the end. Nataliya Prishchepa of Ukraine took it in the end.

As 21 year-old favourite Juan Miguel Echevarria chills somewhere cool after obliterating the men’s long jump qualifying field in his opening jump, the rest wasn’t the greatest competition. Nobody else crossed the automatic mark of 8.15. Jeff Henderson of the United States was the second highest qualifier with 8:12. Defending champ Luvo Manyonga just about qualified with the final with 7.91.

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After heat 3 and heat 4 were won by Winnie Nanyondo of Uganda and Jamaica’s Natoya Goule respectively, there will be some more British interest in the final two women’s 800m heats. Alexandra Bell is coming in heat 5 and Lynsey Sharp will be a favourite in heat 6.

Between heaving gulps of air, Oskan-Clarke seemed pleased:

Tactically, it was hard. I wasn’t in the best position from the start then just trying to make sure I didn’t get too complacent. [I was] working a little too hard on the back straight but I secured my spot so I’m happy with that.

Cool finish from Britain’s Shelayna Oskan-Clarke to qualify second in heat two behind Raevyn Rogers. Oskan-Clarke was in a pretty dire place with 150m to go, trapped on the inside of the group, but she came through really well in the final 40m. Much like her compatriot Wilson in the first heat, Rogers controlled the race from start to finish. That was impressive.

Things are starting to warm up on the track. The 800m heats are underway, with event favourite Ajee Wilson of the United States winning the first race in 2:02.10. Uganda’s Halimah Nakaayi and Christina Hering took second and third.

Wilson is such an elegant runner and she led from the front throughout, controlling the tempo of the race and then edging away from the field with 100m to go. Easy peasy. First three in each heat and the six fastest losers advance here.

This is where we pretend to be shocked.

For the men’s long jump, the qualifiers will have to record a distance of 8.15 or else finish in the top 12 today. Defending champ Luvo Manyonga will have to improve on his own first round of 7.87.

In the men’s long jump, what an ominous start from 21 year-old Juan Miguel Echevarria. Echevarria is the clear favourite and comes into the event with a world lead of 8.65m. He calmly lands a distance of 8.40 in his opening jump. As if the field wasn’t already aware, he is here to win.

We’re finally underway and the 100 metres prelims are on the track. So far, Taymir Burnet of the Netherlands won the first preliminary heat with 10.23 and South Korea’s Kukyoung Kim took the second with 10.32.

First place in each heat and the next five fastest will all make it to the main heats later today.

BBC’s Michael Johnson was perceptive as ever on the subject of athletics moving on after Usain Bolt:

“Any time someone shows some personality on the track, the first thing people say is: ‘the sport needs that, this is what the sport needs!’ We had the best showman ever in sport, for 10 years, Usain Bolt. Did this sport end up improving because of that? No. We’re still in the situation where the sport needs better marketing.

“We need to focus more on the competition between the athletes as opposed to finding another Usain Bolt and just putting all of the attention on him... [Bolt] didn’t bring more sponsors in the sport, didn’t create more media around the sport. When he left, all of the following for Usain Bolt went with Usain Bolt.”

As we wait for the first competitions to begin, here’s an investigation by Sean Ingle into the controversy surrounding Qatar’s acquisition of this event.

Don’t be fooled by the size of the Doha crowds. Sean Ingle also reported that, by Monday, just 50,000 tickets had been sold for the 10 day event. Business isn’t exactly booming considering the Khalifa International Stadium seats 40,000 people.

Some required reading from the esteemed Sean Ingle on the attempts to keep athletes from melting under the Qatari heat in its upcoming major events.

Britain’s Tish Jones is out of the women’s marathon.

Hello! Welcome to day one of the World Athletics Championships in Doha, where we are by no means starting off slowly. The opening afternoon session will kick off with the men’s long jump qualifying, where 21 year-old Juan Miguel Echevarria is favourite to become the first Cuban world champion since 2001. At 2:35pm GMT the men’s 100m preliminary round will begin, before Brits Zharnel Hugues, Ojie Edoburun and Adam Gemili enter the competition at the heats from 4:05pm GMT. All eyes will be on the budding rivalry between 2017 silver medalist Christian Coleman and Noah Lyles.

From 2:40pm, Doha will see a flurry of women’s qualification events starting with two groups of hammer throw. Britain’s Holly Bradshaw will then attempt to make another final in women’s pole vault qualifications, before the women’s high jump qualification and 3000m Steeplechase heats. Later, the block of men events will include triple jump qualification from 5:25pm, 5000m heats and 400m hurdles heats. In the evening session, the first day will close with the midnight women’s marathon final.

Before a single metre has been run or a throw landed, this has already been a controversial championships with suspected corruption, searing temperatures and poor sales all marring the buildup. But in the Khalifa International Stadium at least, the athletes will be fully zoned in on an exciting 10 days to come.

Please feel free to tweet me any questions/abuse at @tumcarayol or by email at tumaini.carayol@theguardian.com