Nairobi — Timothy Cheruiyot and Abel Kipsang have both qualified for Saturday afternoon's 1500m final at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham after they eased through the semi-final round on Thursday.

While Cheruiyot finished second in his Heat, Kipsang was third, but both were very close finishes.

Cheruiyot, the 2019 World Champion was the first one onto the track in Heat One. He slotted in at the back for the opening two and a half laps of the race but with about 600m to go, he began to eat up the gap with the leaders.

At the bell, Cheruiyot made his way to the lead and he ensured he kept the front until the final 20m of the race when he eased off after ensuring he was within the automatic qualification slots, reserving some energy for the final.

He clocked 3:37.82, finishing behind Australia's Oliver Hoare who timed 3:37.57.

Kispang meanwhile clocked 3:48.63 in a slower Heat but still managed an automatic qualification slot. Newly crowned world champion Jake Wightman won the Heat in 3:48.34 while Englishman Mathew Stonier timed 3:48.50 for second.

Kipsang had made his move at the ball and kept up until the home stretch when Wightman sprinted ahead of him, but the Kenyan did just but enough to preserve an automatic qualification slot.

Kenya failed to win a single medal at the World Championships in Eugene two weeks ago, and will look to make amends in Birmingham.