The disappointment was then great for the Blues in the 800m semi-final: neither Benjamin Robert (6th in his race, 1:44.38), nor Gabriel Tual (5th, 1:44.83), nor Yanis Meziane (4th, 1: 44.30), failed to qualify for the final after three very fast halves.
It was the youngest of the three, Meziane (21), European U23 champion this summer, who came out the best with a personal best, failing to qualify by seven hundredths of a second.
