 James McIlroy will run in both the 800m and 1500m |
James McIlroy failed to qualify for the final of the 800 metres after finishing fourth in the final heat of the event. The Larne runner led for much of the race but was overtaken by Sherridan Kirk and Cosmas Rono in the home straight and ran a time of 1:49.85.
McIlroy will compete in the 1500 metres heats on Friday morning.
Anna Boyle finished fourth in her heat for the women's 200 metres to qualify for the semi-finals, in which she finished seventh in a time of 24.03.
The run was not good enough to secure the Ballymena and Antrim athlete a place in the final.
Eva Massey finished 11th in the women's shot put final with a mark of 14.95m.
Northern Ireland athletics coach Bobby Rea described McIlroy's run, which was more than five seconds outside his personal best, as "a complete disaster".
"James is totally gutted but it is just one of those unfortunate things that happen in athletics.
"Sometimes you run your heart out and it doesn't work out for you. Unfortunately, it was one of those bad nights for James.
"His preparation was perfect and he went into the race calm and relaxed. He is devastated now."
MMIX
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