OLYMPICS: Musagala advances to 1500 semifinal

Men 1500m Round 1 (Heat 3)

Jakob Halusa (CZE) 3:38.31

Ronald Kwemoi (KEN) 3:38.33

Abdalaati Iguider (MAR) 3:38.40

Ronald Musagala (UGA) 3:38.45

Ronald Musagala advanced to the semi-final of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games after pushing hard and finishing fourth in heat three of the men's 1500m first round action.

The top six in each heat and best six losers, who all came from Heat 3 advanced to the semi-final of the event.

The Ugandan middle distance runner was scared after seeing who he was up against in the heat but he regained his focus as he emerged from the warm-up area, when he was advised to run his own race and forget about time.

This he did by going ahead to push up the pace; not taking any chances as finishing inside the top six would give him an opportunity if he ran a fast time.

This he did in the first half of the race and by the time other senior runners started catching up, he had created enough base to hang on even at the final sprint where less than a second separated the top 10.

He managed to hang on as he clocked 3 minutes 38.45 seconds to advance as the fourth placed finisher. The heat was won by Czech Republic's Jakub Holusa.

"I was scared after I saw the start list but the coaches told me that big races don't care about time but attitude and that is what I did. When I went in front, I felt I could make it and I hang on. I am so happy for this. I thank my coach Raphael Kasajja for preparing me," said Musagala in the mixed zone.

He said he knows what awaits him on Friday morning when he challenges the best in the semi-final.

"It is going to be tough and I will also not give up. I will fight on," he said.