Former Ballarat Clarendon College student Stewart McSweyn is through to semi-final of the 1500m after finishing third in his heat.
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McSweyn went out aggressively in the first two laps, leading the field around, before fading slightly in the final straight to finish third.
However, his time of 3 minutes 36.39 seconds was eight seconds off his personal best, showing there is plenty in the tank for Thursday's semi-final.
After a number of falls in the second heat, McSweyn made sure he stayed out of trouble, leading the field around in a quick time.
McSweyn told broadcaster Channel 7 said it had been a big build up to competition.
"I'm happy with that, it felt good," he said.
"You've got to take every round, round-by-round and be ready to run faster if I needed to.
"It felt pretty comfy and I'm ready to lift for the next round."
McSwyen qualified for the 5000m and 10,000m but has decided to stick to just the 1500m.
"If I can make it quick, I'm going to take guys on," he said.
"I'll run my own race and if guys are able to beat me doing that, fair enough, they are too good and I'll accept that."
The top six from each of the three heats, plus the next fastest six made it through to the semi final.
