Jemma Reekie has said that she can now look forward to the semi final of the 800m after qualifying from the heats. 

The Renfrewshire runner qualified in first place in heat six with a time of 1:59.97 but admitted it wasn’t how she wanted it to go.

Reekie said: “That was good, I’m glad to get that done. It wasn’t quite as I would have liked, I didn’t quite do what I wanted but I’m through and that’s the main thing.

“It was a little bit messy and I was a little bit all over the place but that's the job done now and I can aim for tomorrow.”

Competing at her first Olympic games, the 23 year old said that her focus was on qualifying for the final race. She said: “It wasn’t so much as laying down a marker with a win, it was just about getting through automatically and not having any issues.”

The Olympics games have had no crowds at the venues due to Coronavirus restrictions in place in Japan, but Reekie felt like there was an atmosphere in the arena. 

“It’s quite good because the volunteers are making it feel special.” She added. “They are clapping us coming out of the call room and they’re just so happy to have us here, it feels like there are people here watching.”