8:29am Monday 18th August 2008
By Guardian reporter
Croydon sprinter Martyn Rooney has cruised through the opening round of the 400 metres at the Olympic Games in Beijing.
The runner ran 45.00 this morning, putting him through to the semi-final tomorrow afternoon.
Rooney, 21, is one of the brightest prospects to have come out of the Croydon Harriers’ athletics group.
"It felt pretty good. I'm a bit rusty as I haven't raced for a while but I have another race on Tuesday and it's a step towards the final," Rooney told the BBC.
"To race in this stadium for the first time is amazing. It's an amazing track, an amazing stadium and I just have to try and take advantage of it and see how it goes.
"I felt relaxed around the top bend and I knew I had it in the bag. I just did what I needed to do."
The performance at 2am London time has put him through to the next round, the semi-finals at 2.45pm tomorrow.
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