By Cathal Dennehy

Copyright independent

The 800 semi-finals are renowned as among the sport’s most difficult, with three races and just the top two from each one automatically advancing, along with two overall time qualifiers across the heats.

English is the third fastest this year among the eight men in his semi-final (1.45pm Irish time) behind the Paris Olympic silver medallist Marco Arop and bronze medallist Djamel Sedjati.

The 32-year-old has been in sparkling form all summer, breaking the national record three times and outkicking McPhillips to win his 10th national outdoor 800m title, and if he’s not in the top two he’ll be hoping Arop – who often likes to front run – pushes the pace hard from the start to give him a shot at qualifying.

McPhillips, meanwhile, has to contend with four men in his semi-final who have run 1:42, while his best is 1:44.19. However, the 23-year-old Longford athlete was hugely impressive in winning his heat and will be dangerous if he’s still in contention as they turn for home. While he’s a big underdog to advance, we’ve seen bigger surprises in recent days.

The women’s 400m final will take star billing on today’s programme, with US superstar Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone looking capable of challenging the world record of 47.60, set by Marita Koch of East Germany 40 years ago.

She will have to see off two strong rivals in the battle for gold, however, in former world champion Salwa Eid Naser and current Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino. The race is at 2.24pm Irish time.

Other finals today include the men’s 400m (2.10pm), women’s triple jump (12.55pm) and men’s javelin (11.23am).

World Athletics Championships, Tokyo – Live, RTÉ Two, 10.45am; BBC Two, 10.30am

Irish in action, Thursday (Irish time)

1.45pm: Mark English, men’s 800m semi-finals

1:53pm: Cian McPhillips, men’s 800m semi-finals