Murphy, a bronze medalist at the Rio Games in 2016, recorded the second-best time in his heat (1 minute, 44.18 seconds). He entered the final lap in fifth place but cut inside and sprinted past three runners in the final stretch, finishing behind only Australia’s Peter Bol (1:44.11).
Murphy had the third-fastest semifinal run. Here’s a list of the finalists: Ferguson Rotich (Kenya), 1:44.04; Bol, 1:44.11; Murphy, 1:44.18; Gabriel Tual (France), 1:44.28; Adrian Ben (Spain), 1:44.30; Amel Tuka (Bosnia and Herzegovina), 1:44.53 Patryk Dobek (Poland), 1:44.60; and Emmanuel Korir (Kenya), 1:44.77.
» ARCHDEACON: Tokyo-bound Murphy runs past doubters
Murphy won his heat in the 800 on Friday to advance to the semifinals. Murphy finished that race 1 minute 45.53 seconds.
The top two finishers in each of the three heats and the next two fastest finishers qualify for the final, which will take place at 8:05 a.m. (EST) on Wednesday.
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