Zoe Buckman blitzes her way to semis Russia's Ekaterina Sharmina and Australia's Zoe Buckman (right). Australian middle distance runner Zoe Buckman was so authoritative in blitzing her way through to the semi-finals of the 1500 metres at the World Athletics Championships she believes now a finals place beckons. Buckman backed up her effort at the London Olympics, where she also won though to the semis, and feels she is now in a "good striking position" to go one further than London and push through to the finals. "It's definitely a step up from last year at the Olympics, I have got a bit more experience and I'm a bit stronger this year so I'm excited about the next round," she said. I think it gives me a bit more confidence going into the next round because I was really nervous. I know I am in shape and I seemed to cruise into that 4:06, I think also having read the race the right way will give me confidence because I have got that bit more experience in the bank. Last year I didn't have that going into the Olympics because I hadn't been to any senior international competition before. I can use that again. Buckman's experience showed in running a mature and aggressive race against a high-quality field in her heat - three of the women in her heat had personal bests under four minutes. She stayed with the lead group of throughout the race but seized her moment when the opportunity presented about 200 from home - "I had to force my way through a bit" - to win in 4:06.99 minutes. Buckman said she was nervous going into the heat because she expects more of herself now than she did in London but she adopted the attitude of just treating the race like training. "I just thought 'C'mon let's get this done', it's as simple as that," she said. This year it was one step up (on London) and I thought if I didn't make it through the first round it would be the worst thing ever. I had to control that. I think I am in a good striking position. Meanwhile, sprinter Melissa Breen was eliminated in her heat of the 100m sprint after running 11.47s to finish fourth and narrowly miss qualifying. Breen is the first Australian woman since Lauren Hewitt in 1999 to run the 100-200 double at the worlds. Unfortunately she has not arrived here in the condition she planned to. Australia's sprint relay team went to Sri Lanka and Thailand chasing a last minute place in the world championships. It didn't work out. They missed the relay place, Sally Pearson did a hamstring and everyone got serious gastro, Breen worst of all, ending up with a kidney and liver infection. "It was a doomed trip," she said. It was still knocking me around in my Euro trip this year. The medication was making me feel awful and really flat and I wasn't able to race particularly well. Lauren Boden, like Breen, has earmarked this year as a breakthrough year. Unlike Breen it got off to a good start with a personal best, a consequence, she said, of a belief that she now feels like she belongs. She has stopped feeling deferential to other 400m hurdlers and has started to treat them as peers. On Monday she runs her heat.