Olympic Champion Emmanuel Korir was always one of the more likely winners of the world title, and he duly proved his class. With a steady run he gradually worked himself forward during the second lap, and once he had taken the lead no one could challenge him.

The start of the race saw Moula take the lead, but he seemed not interested in running fast, so Arop soon took over and they reached the bell in 52.04, a decent pace if not very fast. Moula, Kinyamal and Tula were close behind, with the field still very close together. As they went around the bend to the back straight Moula was losing ground and now it was Korir who was slowly moving to the lead. He went past Tual who was finding it hard to stay close, then as they went around the final bend, came alongside of Kinyamal. At this point the two Kenyans were following Arop, but Kinyamal started grimacing badly - he may have picked up an injury, and from that moment he could no longer challenge for a medal.

Korir had still something left though. He took over the lead from Arop, in his familiar style, his head bobbing up and down, and his gold medal was never in doubt from there. Arop was struggling to keep going, and from way behind Sedjati put in a fast finish which took him to the silver. Wanyonyi finished almost as fast, but he mistimed his efforts as he came from last to fourth, and so Arop could hang on for the bronze.

    Result:
 1. Emmanuel Korir           KEN  1:43.71
 2. Djamel Sedjati           ALG  1:44.14
 3. Marco Arop               CAN  1:44.28
 4. Emmanuel Wanyonyi        KEN  1:44.54
 5. Slimane Moula            ALG  1:44.85
 6. Gabriel Tual             FRA  1:45.49
 7. Peter Bol                AUS  1:45.51
 8. Wyclife Kinyamal         KEN  1:47.07

As is usual these days there were three semis. The first two would progress to the final and two more would qualify on time.

• Semifinal 1
  This heat featured two strong Kenyans. It was Bodena who took the lead with Kinyamal and Bol close behind. The pace dropped a bit towards the bell which was reached in 52.92. On the back straight Bodena was fading as Korir moved gradually forward. Around the bend the two Kenyans and Bol were leading, while the others were struggling to keep close. On the final straight Korir had a bit of extra pace and finished fast while Kinyamal managed to stay ahead of Bol. Langford made a strong late run but had left himself too much to do. Bol eventually made the final as the second fastest loser.

      Result:
   1. Emmanuel Korir           KEN  1:45.38 Q
   2. Wyclife Kinyamal         KEN  1:45.49 Q
   3. Peter Bol                AUS  1:45.58 q
   4. Kyle Langford            GBR  1:45.91
   5. Jesus Lopez              MEX  1:46.17
   6. Tony van Diepen          NED  1:46.70
   7. Elhassane Moujahid       MAR  1:47.18
   8. Tolesa Bodena            ETH  1:50.55
  
  

• Semifinal 2
  As expected Kramer was in the lead after 200, with Kibet on his shoulder and Tual close behind. After one lap they clocked 51.91, a bit faster than the first semi. Kibet soon took over the lead and he was joined by García while Zahafi also moved forward. Around the bend though both leaders started to struggle as Sedjati came from the back and went past everyone. Only Tual managed to go with him while Zahafi and García were unable to do so and Kibet faded entirely. At the finish Sedjati and Tual qualified. Both Rowden and Tecuceanu gained some ground on the last stretch but they were not fast enough to qualify by time.

      Result:
   1. Djamel Sedjati           ALG  1:45.44 Q
   2. Gabriel Tual             FRA  1:45.53 Q
   3. Daniel Rowden            GBR  1:46.27
   4. Catalin Tecuceanu        ITA  1:46.31
   5. Moad Zahafi              MAR  1:46.35
   6. Mariano Garcïa           ESP  1:46.70
   7. Andreas Kramer           SWE  1:46.71
   8. Noah Kibet               KEN  1:47.15
  

• Semifinal 3
  Young Kenyan Wanyonyi took the lead with Moula behind him. Surprisingly Arop started very slowly, but as they approached halfway (which was reached in 52.06) he moved forward, and soon took over the lead. On the back straight Moula appeared to be struggling while Arop slowly moved away and looked a certain winner. But around 60 meters out Moula suddenly found another gear and streaked forward, leaving everyone in his wake. Moula finished first in the fastest time of the three semis, with Arop qualifying as well. Wanyonyi held on for third and made the final as a fast loser. Robert fell just short of qualification.

      Result:
   1. Slimane Moula            ALG  1:44.89 Q
   2. Marco Arop               CAN  1:45.12 Q
   3. Emmanuel Wanyonyi        KEN  1:45.42 q
   4. Benjamin Robert          FRA  1:45.67
   5. Mark English             IRL  1:45.78
   6. Abdessalem Ayouni        TUN  1:46.08
   7. Álvaro De Arriba         ESP  1:46.30
   8. Abdelati El Guesse       MAR  1:46.46
  

So in the final we will see three Kenyans, and surely they must be favorite to take one or more medals. But they may have to find a way to deal with the two fast Algerians, especially with the lightning finish of Moula. Arop and Bol look most likely to lead from the front, although the final does not promise to be really fast. Finally Tual is the only one from the ten Europeans in the semis who managed to reach the final.

The first round consisted of six heats, so the first three of each heat would qualify and six further athletes would qualify for the semis on time. The temperatures were quite high, so athletes would probably want to save energy and not try for very fast heats.

• Heat 1
  Sad news just before the start of this heat: world leader Max Burgin had to pull out due to a minor injury. That left Olympic Champion Emmanuel Korir as the big favorite, but he was taking it easy on the first lap as Marc Reuther and Ermias Girma led the field to a very slow 56.80. On the back straight Korir went to the front, Reuther dropped back, which effectively left just three runners to fight for two places. On the line Álvaro de Arriba and Elhassane Moujahid did just enough as Girma fell just short of qualification.

      Result:
   1. Emmanuel Korir           KEN  1:49.05 Q
   2. Elhassane Moujahid       MAR  1:49.27 Q
   3. Álvaro de Arriba         ESP  1:49.30 Q
   4. Ermias Girma             ETH  1:49.36
   5. Marc Reuther             GER  1:50.75
   6. Manuel Ataide            TLS  1:58.91
   -  Max Burgin               GBR  DNS
  

• Heat 2
  This heat featured reigning World Champion Donavan Brazier. What kind of shape would he be in? Initially Mariano Garcïa and Peter Bol took the lead with Brazier content to keep the curve close behind. At the bell they recorded 52.24, much quicker than the first heat. Into the final curve Bol went to the front, Benjamin Robert joined him while Kyle Langford had a strong run from behind. On the final stretch Brazier could no longer sustain the pace. It was a sad sight to see the current World Champion being outrun by so many others. Bol eventually won the heat, Langford and Garcüa qualified as well. Robert struggled towards the end and had to see Alex Amankwah going past as well. But it turned out Amankwah (who finished in 1:45.92) had ran inside his lane during the first 100m and was therefore disqualified. This was fortunate for Robert, who eventually took the sixth and last qualification spot of the fastest losing times.

      Result:
   1. Peter Bol                AUS  1:45.50 Q
   2. Kyle Langford            GBR  1:45.68 Q
   3. Mariano Garcïa           ESP  1:45.74 Q
   4. Benjamin Robert          FRA  1:45.94 q
   5. Abedin Mujezinović       BIH  1:46.26
   6. Donavan Brazier          USA  1:46.72
   7. Patryk Sieradzki         POL  1:48.78
   -  Alex Amankwah            GHA  DQ
  

• Heat 3
  After the start of this heat many runners all wanted to go inside as quickly as possible, and there were many collisions. It seemed as though initially Gabriel Tual and Brandon McBride bumped into each other, then McBride bumped into Bryce Hoppel, who could barely stay on his feet, and finally McBride seemed to step on the heels of Navasky Anderson, which saw McBride, one of the heat's favorites, tumble down on the track.
  After all that Moad Zahafi was leading and reached the bell in a respectable 51.97. Zahafi showed that his earlier results in this season were no fluke, as he held on seemingly with little effort. Behind him Tual took second place and young Kenyan talent Emmanuel Wanyonyi had to work hard but secured the third spot. Eliott Crestan put in a late run but had mistimed his efforts as the finish came too soon.

      Result:
   1. Moad Zahafi              MAR  1:46.15 Q
   2. Gabriel Tual             FRA  1:46.34 Q
   3. Emmanuel Wanyonyi        KEN  1:46.45 Q
   4. Eliott Crestan           BEL  1:46.61
   5. Bryce Hoppel             USA  1:46.98
   6. Mateusz Borkowski        POL  1:47.61
   7. Navasky Anderson         JAM  1:48.37
   8. Brandon McBride          CAN  1:57.43
  

• Heat 4
  A heat without clear favorites that saw Brad Mathas take the lead with the group closely bunched and the time at 400 of 54.46 indicated it would be a fast second lap. Adriá Ben soon took over with Sedjati and Van Diepen following while Mathas was going backwards. Sedjati finished first, Abdessalem Ayouni put in a strong finish and Van Diepen held on, so it was Ben who finished fourth and missed qualification. Talented young American Brandon Miller was unable to get close to the top three and to the disappointment of the home crowd he went out as well.

      Result:
   1. Djamel Sedjati           ALG  1:46.39 Q
   2. Tony van Diepen          NED  1:46.59 Q
   3. Abdessalem Ayouni        TUN  1:46.59 Q
   4. Adrián Ben               ESP  1:46.71
   5. Brandon Miller           USA  1:47.29
   6. Tshepo Tshite            RSA  1:47.61
   7. Brad Mathas              NZL  1:47.70
  

• Heat 5
  In this heat Andreas Kramer was expected to take the lead. He duly did and took them out in 51.47. But he could not quite keep that pace, and on the back straight Marco Arop and Mark English went past. Then Jonah Koech, who was getting closer to the lead as well, saw a gap where there wasn't any, and squeezed himself through between Jesus Lopez and the fading Kramer. As a result Kramer got a big push and only just managed to avoid a fall. The pace up front was fast, with Arop in the lead and Lopez, English, Koech and Catalin Tecuceanu pressing hard. Eventually Arop finished first, with Koech and Lopez close behind. But the pace of this heat was so fast that English, Tecuceanu, Noah Kibet and even Kramer, who admirably recovered to record a decent time, all qualified because of their fast times. Then the news came that Jonah Koech (who had initially run a PB of 1:44.62) was disqualified because of his serious push. It completed a miserable day for the home crowd, who had earlier seen Brazier, Hoppel and Miller all being eliminated as well.

      Result:
   1. Marco Arop               CAN  1:44.56 Q
   2. Jesus Lopez              MEX  1:44.67 Q
   3. Mark English             IRL  1:44.76 Q
   4. Catalin Tecuceanu        ITA  1:44.83 q
   5. Noah Kibet               KEN  1:45.41 q
   6. Andreas Kramer           SWE  1:45.77 q
   7. Yassine Hethat           ALG  1:46.05
   -  Jonah Koech              USA  DQ
  

• Heat 6
  Having seen the first five heats Daniel Rowden knew that a time of 1:45 would probably suffice for qualification, and he decided that he would make sure of a fast pace. At the bell he had a lead of several meters as he reached the halfway stage in 50.81. It was only after 700 meters that others managed to come close, and Wyclife Kinyamal and Abdelatif El Guesse took over, only to be outdone by a stunningly fast finish by Slimane Moula. Rowden finished fourth, but his time, as planned, was good enough for qualification.

      Result:
   1. Slimane Moula            ALG  1:44.90 Q
   2. Wyclife Kinyamal         KEN  1:45.08 Q
   3. Abdelatif El Guesse      MAR  1:45.25 Q
   4. Daniel Rowden            GBR  1:45.53 q
   5. Tolesa Bodena            ETH  1:45.81 q
   6. Patryk Dobek             POL  1:46.80
   7. Zan Rudolf               SLO  1:49.87
  

So some big names went out, notably current world Champion Donavan Brazier and (due to a fall) Brandon McBride. All four Kenyans qualified, but it was an awful day for the USA as none of their four athletes could qualifiy. Two quite convincing runs from two Algerians, and the North of Africa is represented as well by three Moroccans and a Tunisian. Two athletes from Spain, France and Great Britain each, but Poland saw all three runners going out. There are ten runners from Europe still in competition, contrasting to just two from the American continent (one from Canada, one from Mexico).