Mo Farah eased into the 5,000m final, setting up the perfect farewell to the track as he goes for a fifth consecutive global double.
Returning to the track five days after defending his 10,000m world title, Farah aimed to go one step closer to another 5,000m and 10,000m double by safely making his way into Saturday’s final.
With the rain pouring down inside the London Stadium, the race began slowly, with the 10-time world gold medalist starting in familiar fashion sitting back and observing the rest of the field.
But after the first 1000m the pace kicked on, prompting Farah to take notice and move up the field of 21 top athletes, with Tanzania’s Giniki Gisamoda and Ethiopian pair Yomif Kechejcha and Muktar Edris sitting at the front.
As the pace slowed again, the double Olympic champion was content floating between fourth and seventh place.
Coming into final two laps, and with only the top five making it through to the final, Farah moved himself up to the front of a tightly packed field.
Focused solely on qualifying for Saturday’s final, while conserving energy, Farah was content taking second place in 13:30.18. Ethiopia’s Yomif Kechejcha crossed the line for first in 13:30.07, while Muktar Edris finished third, qualifying with Justyn Knight and Aron Kifle.
16-year-old Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda finished in 9th place, a good performance from U20 World Cross Country Champion.
Speaking afterwards Farah said: “I am a bit tired – that was a tough run after the 10k final but I can just go back and rest and see what I can do.
“It’s difficult to motivate yourself after a win like that (10,000m) but you aren’t going to win unless you recover, get rest, turn the lights off and prepare all you can.”
17-year-old Selemon Barega won the second heat of the night, crossing the line in 13:21.50. Finishing second was Birhanu Balew of Bahrain, with Kenya’s Cyrus Rutto third.
USA’s Paul Chelimo, who won Olympic silver in Rio, fell midway through the race, but recovered well to clinch a fastest loser qualifying place alongside Britain’s Andrew Butchart.
Butchart crossed the line strongly in 13:24.78 for 7th place, while team-mate Marc Scott finished 18th in 13:58.11.
In the women’s 3000m steeplechase, Gesa Krause of Germany won the first heat, with Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech and 18-year-old Celliphine Chepsol winning heat two and three.
2015 world champion Hyvin Kiyeng Jepkemoi also made it through to the next round, alongside Olympic champion Ruth Jebet of Bahrain and USA’s Emma Coburn.
After a strong start in heat three, GB’s Rosie Clarke was unfortunate to fall when negotiating a water jump. The 2016 British champion recovered well and after getting back into contention, Clarke suffered another misfortune, this time, jumping a hurdle.
Clarke, who was making her first appearance at a major championships, got back up and battled on bravely for a 9th place finish in 9:49.36.
Also in action was Britain’s Lennie Waite, who finished 10th in heat one in 9:54.97.
Colleen Quigley of the USA, finished third in the opening heat but was later disqualified.
In the hammer defending champion Pawel Fajdek of Poland and compatriot Wojciech Nowicki made it through to the final, along with GB’s Nick Miller with an excellent first throw of 75.52m.
In the women’s long jump, Olympic champion Tianna Bartoletta made it through to the final with 6.64m, as did Russia’s Darya Klishina, who is competing as a neutral athlete, and Britain’s Lorraine Ugen.
Jazmin Sawyers missed out on the next round, finishing 18th with a best jump of 6.34m, while fellow British athlete Shara Proctor’s also missed out.