Great Britain's Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson began her pursuit of a first world title by cruising through to the semi-finals of the women's 800m in Tokyo.

Hodgkinson is the gold-medal favourite after running a world-leading time on her return to action in August, despite enduring a 376-day wait to make her competitive return following last summer's Games.

Two hamstring tears later, she secured back-to-back wins in her only two pre-championship races in August.

Returning to the stadium where she won Olympic silver as a teenager four years ago, the 23-year-old controlled her heat to reach Friday's semi-finals.

There, she will be joined by training partner Georgia Hunter Bell as the pair target a spectacular British one-two in the event.

"I don't like the rounds, they feel awful, they are awful. I just really wanted to enjoy being back in the stadium. It's so nice to be here," Hodgkinson told BBC Sport.

"It wasn't pretty or dominant, but it's nice to be safely through. It's been a long week waiting around. Whoever put the 800m last, thank you.

"I've just been looking forward to getting out here, at one point I didn't even know if I'd be here. It definitely means a lot, round by round I'm hoping it goes my way.

"It would mean even more than last year [to win]. I'm just trying to embrace it all."

Hodgkinson won her heat in a comfortable one minute 59.79 seconds - a time more than five seconds slower than her British record.

Olympic 1500m bronze medallist Hunter Bell, who chose to switch focus to the shorter of the middle-distance events in pursuit of another global podium, also began with victory, clocking 1:58.82.

Hunter Bell told BBC Sport: "We have been out in Japan for a long time, so it felt like Christmas morning getting out on track.

"Doing the 800m is the right decision. I feel like I have really got something to show - I have a high ranking and with my team-mate this was the year to do it."

Gold medal threats remain in the shape of Kenya's reigning champion Mary Moraa, Ethiopia's Olympic silver medallist Tsige Duguma and in-form Swiss athlete Audrey Werro.

However, British team-mate Jemma Reekie missed out after placing fifth in her heat.

Great Britain's Amber Anning finished fifth in the women's 400m final, in which American hurdles star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone went close to breaking a 40-year record in claiming a stunning gold.

McLaughlin-Levrone, a two-time Olympic and world 400m hurdles champion, hinted that she could threaten German Marita Koch's controversial 1985 record of 47.60 seconds by breaking Sanya Richards-Ross' United States record in the semi-finals.

In wet conditions at Japan's National Stadium, the 26-year-old 400m hurdles record holder clocked the second-fastest 400m flat time in history with 47.78.

World indoor champion Anning, 24, replicated her top-five placing at the Paris 2024 Olympics, running a season's best 49.36.

Britain's Zharnel Hughes, Dina Asher-Smith and Amy Hunt each reached the finals of their respective 200m events.

Hughes, unable to make the 100m final after winning bronze in 2023, secured his place in the medal race as he followed three-time defending champion Noah Lyles across the line in 19.95 seconds.

Lyles produced a statement performance in his favoured event. Having already established a significant advantage over his semi-final competition, the American did not ease up and crossed the line in a world-leading time of 19.51.

Hunt ran a personal best 22.08 to follow two-time defending champion Shericka Jackson into the women's 200m final from their heat.

Dina Asher-Smith qualified in second in her heat, behind American 100m champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden.

But Daryll Neita was unable to make it a British trio in to the final as she finished fourth.

Max Burgin will contest Saturday's men's 800m final, but 2023 bronze medallist Ben Pattison's challenge was ended.

Burgin, 23, finished in the required top two places but was caught by Ireland's Cian McPhillips, who secured an impressive win in a national record 1:43.18.

Pattison could only finish fifth in a race featuring Olympic medallists Marco Arop and Djamel Sedjati.

Hannah Nuttall reached Saturday's women's 5,000m final by finishing seventh in her heat in 14:48.09, but Melissa Courtney-Bryant and Innes FitzGerald missed out.

Morgan Lake, who improved her British high jump record by clearing two metres for the first time in August, safely qualified for her final with a clearance at 1.92m.