LEIGH'S Keely Hodgkinson is safely through to the 800m semi-finals in the European Athletics Championships in Munich.

The former Fred Longworth High School student finished first from lane eight in the second of four heats to qualify for tomorrow's semi-finals.

Although hers was the slowest heat and 20 runners recorded a faster race over the four heats, times did not matter for those finishing in the first three as qualification was automatic.

The Atherton-born 20-year-old, silver medallist in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, led her race from start to finish.

"I think the first rounds are always a little bit awkward, never sure about the pace," she said.

"The goal was to get through the round, and come out again tomorrow to do the same thing.

"The first lap was slow, and I knew I had to do a faster second lap – but at Championships times don't really matter, it's about qualifying or getting a medal."

She said she wasn't sure if the other athletes were waiting for her to take the race on from the front but she wasn't afraid to do so.

"Not sure if they relied on me. I was just going to see if any of them wanted to take it on, and, if not, I was happy to do it myself and try to qualify," she said.

"There were a few heel clippings, felt it a few times, but that's fine – it is part of racing."

Hodgkinson, who is ranked number one in Europe, will be in the first of tomorrow's semi-finals, which is scheduled to start at 10.50am.

In with her will be European ranked fourth runner Elena Bello from Italy and the eighth-ranked Polish athlete Anna Wielgosz, who have both run four to five seconds faster this year than Hodgkinson's heat time.