"Yes!" an exuberant Mbulaeni Mulaudzi exclaimed with a double air-punch on Friday night confirming his progression into Sunday's 800m final at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin.

Mulaudzi, the 2003 bronze medalist in Paris, became South Africa's third finalist at the global showpiece.

The 29-year-old was drawn in the second of three semifinals in a field including Yusuf Saad Kamal of Bahrain and Russia's Yuriy Borzakovskiy, but was content to tuck in behind Kenyan Alfred Kirwa Yego after the break with the Russian moving up to his outside shoulder for the bell in 51.54 seconds.

With 250m to go Borzakovskiy had the lead and Mulaudzi was fighting to keep his way open on the inside lane.

The quartet were free of the field going down the home straight with Kamal taking it in 1:45.01, and Borzakovskiy and Yego scissoring Muluadzi out into fourth in 1:45.26.

The South African anxiously watched his fate unfold on TV in the hope of claiming the second of the two fastest loser slots behind the Kenyan.

"I was worried and I'm just glad I made it," Mulaudzi said.

"I've trained well and I feel I deserve to be in the final.

"We were delayed and we waited too long in the holding area. My body was not warmed up enough for the first 300 metres. Now I can't wait for Sunday."

World leader Abubaker Kaki of Sudan will miss the final after he slipped and failed to finish the first semifinal.

Samson Ngoepe was never in contention in the third semifinal.

Initially holding sixth position the South African dropped to last as Moroccan Amine Laalou stretched the pace to cross the line in 1:45.33.

Robert Oosthuizen was a shadow of the athlete that earned sixth place at the 2007 World Championships when he failed to make it through the qualifying round of the javelin. His first throw of 67.86 metres was his best of the night but was well off the 78.69m he would have needed to qualify.

It was always going to take a top level performance from Janice Josephs to make it into the final, but the cloud burst of rain certainly never helped her cause.

Her first leap of 6.22 metres in the dry was followed by a lack-lustre 5.75m second trial, and then the heavens opened and the ex-heptathlete had a no-jump to complete her competition.

The initial sprint relay team of six was cut to four just days prior to the championships when Kagisho Kumbane and Tshegofatso Meshoe were sent home injured.

With Simon Magakwe injuring his hamstring in his 100m quarter-final outing, 400m hurdler LJ van Zyl took the final leg of the 4X100m relay, giving the rest of the team an opportunity to run in the Berlin stadium. They finished sixth and last in their heat. The men's marathon (11.45am) kicks off the penultimate day of the championships with Norman Dlomo, Johannes Kekana and Coolboy Ngamole representing South Africa.

Beijing Silver medallist Khotso Mokoena will be back in action in the long Jump final on Saturday night, and the 4X400m relay team will attempt to qualify for Sunday's final.