Nick Willis looked confident in easing through the first round of the 1500m heats at the Olympic Stadium this evening.
Willis, a silver medallist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, took the lead early in his heat and even though six from the race were assured of progressing, he kept out of trouble by staying at the front.
The Hutt Valley man controlled the race well and won his heat in 3min 40.92s.
In terms of not expending too much energy, it was a smart race by Willis. His winning time was the slowest of any of the heat winners. Several runners from other heats ran 3min 36s to advance.
The other New Zealander in action at the track today was Sarah Cowley in the heptathlon.
She finished the first day of the two-day event in 30th place.
Cowley began her day by running 13.95s for the 100m hurdles, which left her in 30th place in a field of 39.
Next up was the high jump, in which she cleared 1.80m at her third attempt. That moved her up to 24th position.
She lost ground slightly in the shot put, managing 12.37s at her third attempt, but falling to 29th position.
In the final event of the day, the 200m, Cowley ran a tidy 25.60s. It left her with 3482 points midway through her event.
The leader after one day is strong favourite Jessica Ennis of Great Britain with 4158 points.
