James McIlroy failed to qualify for the 800 metres final at the European Championships in Munich.

With only the first three finishers qualifying automatically for Sunday's final, the Larne athlete came home fifth in his semi-final on Saturday.

McIlroy led at the bell after a slow opening lap (55.83) but he was passed by the majority of the field with 300 metres left.

The 25-year-old did produce a better closing 100 metres to move back into fifth position but his time of 1:49.15 was never going to be enough to claim one of the two fastest loser berths.

Sure enough, the second semi-final was faster which confirmed McIlroy's exit from the Championships.

Olympic champion Nils Schuman, who is defending the European title, won McIlroy's heat in 1:48.01 ahead of Holland's Arnoud Okken (1:48.22) and Polish athlete Pawel Czapiewski (1:48.37).

McIlroy, then representing Ireland, finished fourth in the European Championships in Budapest during his debut season on the international circuit in 1998.

The Northern Ireland man looked a tremendous talent at that stage but he has not been able to reproduce that form over the past four years.