Away they go.

“I’ve been losing my mind,” admitted Keely Hodgkinson after being made to wait until day six to compete.

Winning is all that’s on her mind now, and the Olympic champion is two seconds quicker than the rest of the field in this semi-final.

The Olympic champion is on the track...

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

A very impressive finish by Kenya's Lilian Odira sees her win semi-final two, while Switzerland's Audrey Werro comes second to also qualify for the final.

Asutralia's Jess Hull - who was tripped in the heats but was given a pass through the semis - sets a new Continental record in coming third. That should be enough to secure a final spot as one of the quickest non-top two finishers.

The second semi-final - featuring Olympic runner-up Tsige Duguma, 1500m bronze medallist Jessica Hull and Swiss record holder Audrey Werro, who is second quickest this year - is under way.

Image source, Getty Images

Georgia Hunter-Bell spoke to BBC Sport after qualifying for the 800m final: "It went pretty perfect, I just wanted to settle in and make sure I came top two.

"It felt a lot smoother than yesterday, and I'm happy to get the job done. Now I have 48 hours to chill out before the final.

"[Mary Moraa] was actually quite honest with the pacing today. She usually goes to the front and put the breaks on, but she didn't today so I'm really happy with that.

"I'm so excited!"

Britain's 800m Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson speaking to BBC Sport after qualifying for the World Championship semi-finals in Tokyo earlier this week: "I don't like the rounds, they feel awful, they are awful. I just really wanted to enjoy being back in the stadium. It's so nice to be here.

"It wasn't pretty or dominant, but it's nice to be safely through. It's been a long week waiting around. Whoever put the 800m last, thank you.

"I've just been looking forward to getting out here, at one point I didn't even know if I'd be here. It definitely means a lot, round by round I'm hoping it goes my way.

"It would mean even more than last year [to win]. I'm just trying to embrace it all."

Harry Poole
BBC Sport in Tokyo

Great Britain's Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson began her pursuit of a first world title by cruising through to the semi-finals of the women's 800m in Tokyo.

Hodgkinson is the gold-medal favourite after running a world-leading time on her return to action in August, despite enduring a 376-day wait to make her competitive return following last summer's Games.

Two hamstring tears later, she secured back-to-back wins in her only two pre-championship races in August.

Returning to the stadium where she won Olympic silver as a teenager four years ago, the 23-year-old controlled her heat to reach Friday's semi-finals.

There, she will be joined by training partner Georgia Hunter Bell as the pair target a spectacular British one-two in the event.

Keely Hodgkinson will expect to continue her bid for gold by progressing from these semis ahead of Sunday's medal race.

Hodgkinson won her heat in a comfortable one minute 59.79 seconds - a time more than five seconds slower than her British record.

Gold medal threats remain in the shape of Kenya's reigning champion Mary Moraa, Ethiopia's Olympic silver medallist Tsige Duguma, in-form Swiss athlete Audrey Werro -and of course her team mate, Georgia Hunter Bell.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

After a short break, the heptathlon is back at it.

It's time for the shot put, and this is one of Katarina Johnson-Thompson's weaker events.

She goes in Group B, who are expected to throw a shorter distance, while rivals Anna Hall, Nafi Thiam and Kate O'Connor are all in Group A.

KJT manages 13.37m with her first attempt.

Harry Poole
BBC Sport in Tokyo

The 800m was the event that Georgia Hunter Bell first focused on as a junior.

She has certainly taken the long way round since she proudly wore the colours of Ealing, Southall and Middlesex in her first track race back in 2004.

But her journey from quitting the sport she had fallen out of love with, to making the Olympic podium on her debut via a Parkrun-inspired comeback, was one of the standout Team GB success stories in Paris last summer.

And with that composed performance, she has earned the opportunity to complete a full-circle moment in pursuit of another global podium on Sunday.

Now, can her training partner join her...

Jenny Meadows
Former 800m World Championship medallist on BBC Two

Georgia [Hunter-Bell] is quite the strategist, the opposite of Keely. When we have conversaitons, she writes notes. Keeley doesn't want to write notes!

Georgia will be thinking about the things she has got to hone in on and get herself in the right positions at the right time.

Kenya's world champion Mary Moraa looked much stronger there than in recent performances, streaking away to win the heat.

It was touch and go for Georgia Hunter Bell, who was overtaken by Jamaica's Nagoya Goule-Toppin and looked for a while to have been shut out.

But as Goule-Toppin tired, Hunter Bell powered through to seal her spot in the medal race.

Mary Moraa has moved to the front of the pack, with Georgia Hunter Bell on her shoulder.

The two favourites leading at the half-way point.

The top two in each heat reach the final, as do the two other fastest finishers.

Take your marks...

Here's how Keely and GHB got this far...

More British medal interest now, as we go to the women's 800m semis.

Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson runs in the third and final heat.

In this first heat, Georgia Hunter Bell faces defending world champion Mary Moraa, whose form has been indifferent this season.

Harry Poole
BBC Sport in Tokyo

Jakob Ingebrigtsen had done the maths and was looking around repeatedly to make sure he had that top-eight finish.

But for him to be in that final position, attempting to save every bit of energy he could, seems like further confirmation that he is a long, long way off the standards we expect to see from him.

You want to see the best of the best in the final, and Ingebrigtsen is still in contention.