Ricky Soos gave a fighting performance in his first major championships as he finished third in his heat of the 800 metres, but his time of 1:47.80 wasn't quite good enough to see him through to the final.

Only the first two from each heat qualified and Soos missed out on one of the fastest loser spots, but the 20-year-old was grateful for the experience.

He said: "I'm pleased with my performance but I would like to have been faster.

"If it had been the top three qualifying I would have been okay, but that was a really tough heat because the Kenyan champion (Justus Koech) was in there.

"I didn't feel under any pressure in this my first major championships and it is all about getting experience. I'll take away the experience of competing in a major championships because it has been a steep learning curve."