Nicholas Kimeli beat a strong field of athletes to qualify for the 5000 meters final as David Kimeli and Samwel Masai failed to make it Friday's showpiece.
Kimeli won Heat one in 13:38:87 ahead of Canada's Mohammed Ahmed(13:38.96) while William Kincaid of the United States (13:39.04) was third. Uganda's Oscar Chelimo (13:39.07) and Bahrain's Birhanu Balew (13:41.62) sealed the other automatic qualifying positions.
The other Kenyan in heat one Daniel Simiu Ebenyo stumbled with seven laps to go then recovered, unfortunately he couldn't keep up with the pace and finishing 10th (13:39.04) and outside the automatic qualifying positions.
In heat 2, Samwel Masai did not start the race.
Kenyans will be in action on Wednesday with Julius Yego starting off the day with a throw in the Men Javelin qualification.
More action is expected in the women’s 1500m semis where Faith Kipyegon will lead Edinah Jebitok and Winny Chebet in the hunt for a place in the final.
The men's 800m final will also take place with Ferguson Rotich out to upset all odds and win Kenya's first gold medal in Tokyo.
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