T&T sprinter Michelle-Lee Ahye advanced to the semifinals in the women’s 100 metres dash at the World Athletics Championship at Eugene’s Hayward Field, Oregon, on Saturday night.

The multiple Olympic Games finalist and Commonwealth Games sprint champion, running out of lane four in heat six of seven, got out well and crossed in second place in a time of 11.18 seconds to be among the automatic qualifiers for the semifinals. The fastest three finishers qualified for today’s semifinals from 8.33 pm along with the three fastest losers overall, with the final also today from 7.50 pm.

The 30-year-old Ahye, currently ranked 12th in the world with a season-best of 10.94 she ran in May, followed to the line American Aleia Hobbs with 11.04 and ahead of third-placed Bahrain’s Edidiong Ofinome Odiong with 11.28.

Among the automatic qualifiers were some familiar faces in Jamaicans and respective heat one to three winners, Shericka Jackson with 11.02, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.87), Elaine Thompson-Herah (11.45), along with heat four winner Marie-Josee Ta Lou of Ivory Coast with 10.92 with a season-best (sb), heat five winner Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith 10.84-sb and Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambunji, who won the final heat with 10.97.

T&T athletes Portious Warren and Jerod Elcock made early exits from their respective events on day one of the Championship continued on Friday night.

Competing in Group B of the women’s shot put, the 26-year-old Warren was 12th best out of 15 competitors with a best throw of 16.65 metres. The T&T field specialist needed to reach at least a distance of 18.90m to be among the automatic qualifiers or be among at least 12 best performers to reach yesterday’s final.

In the men’s 100m, Elcock finished sixth in heat two of six in 10.22 seconds well behind American favourite Fred Kerley who won in a very quick time of 9.79 seconds followed by Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes who clocked 9.97 while Liberian Emmanuel Matadi was third in 9.99, just ahead of Nigerian ace Favour Ash (10.00) while China’s Bingtian Su was fifth in 10.15.

Dwight St Hillaire is list to face the starter in the men’s 400m heats Sunday and on Monday, Eric Harrison and Jereem “The Dream” Richards will compete in the men’s 200m.

Two-time Olympic medal winner, including gold at the 2012 London Olympics, Keshorn Walcott begins his quest for top honours in the men’s javelin on Thursday while Tyra Gittens competes in the women’s long jump and the team of St Hillaire, Richards, Asa Guevara, Shakeem McKay, Kashief King and Elcock are listed for the men’s 4x400m, both on Saturday.

In 2017, T&T famously beat the USA in the 4-x400m event and will look to world indoor 400m champion Richards for a repeat.