Ireland’s 1500m men’s hopefuls all failed to earn direct progression to the semi-finals as the track athletics action got under way in Paris.
With only the top six securing semi-finals spots, Luke McCann was the best Irish finisher as he was eighth in heat two after leaving himself with too much to do despite producing a fast finish to cross the line in 3:35.73.
Those ahead of McCann included Kenya’s 2020 silver medallist Timothy Cheruiyot, US champion Cole Hocker and young Dutch talent Niels Laros.
Earlier, Olympic debutant Cathal Doyle finished ninth in his heat in 3:37.82 as Great Britain’s world champion Josh Kerr looked hugely impressive in taking victory in 3:35.83.
Doyle got caught in traffic on a number of occasions in the heat and was unable to move into the top six on the home straight despite producing a strong closing sprint.
Irish record holder Andrew Coscoran produced a very disappointing run as he finished 15th and last in 3:42.07 after becoming detached from the leaders on the penultimate lap.
Defending champion Jakob Ingebrigsten, beaten by Kerr at last year’s World Championships, eased into the semi-finals by finishing third in Coscoran’s heat.
The Irish trio will have another opportunity to reach the semi-finals when they compete in the repechage on Saturday evening under the new Olympic format.
In Friday’s evening session, Ireland will go in the mixed 4x400m relay heats with Rhasidat Adeleke not expected to run as she builds up to her medal challenge in the individual 400m.
Adeleke is set to be replaced by Sophie Becker with Thomas Barr, Chris O’Donnell and Sharlene Mawdsley the other members of the quartet after helping the Irish win gold at the European Championships in June.
Luke McCann’s sister Jodie will compete in the women’s 5,000m heats with Eric Favours involved in shot put qualification.