Jamie Baulch, known for his appetite for front running, rose to the bait of the fast starting Fred Mango in heat 4.
Going through the halfway mark in 21.69, Baulch finished in 46.46. Mango was overtaken by the impressive David Canal and the Spaniard automatically qualified with 46.48 ... but Mango at least smashed his personal best with 46.64.
The fastest time was clocked by the Mexican Alejandro Cardenas when winning heat 3, with 46.45 ahead of Germany’s Lars Figura.
Probably the most emphatic display came from the Bahamian Troy McIntosh who won heat 2 in 46.49, despite easing down for the last 50 metres. Not so relaxed was defending champion Sunday Bada, who finished outside the automatic qualifying places in the same race, but was able to advance as one of the fastest losers with 46.87.
