PARIS -- Dina Asher-Smith has qualified through the women's 100-metre heats on Friday with a time of 11.01 seconds, booking herself a spot in Saturday's semifinal.
Daryll Neita, who will be hoping to reach the 100-metre final, also qualified, with a season's best time of 10.92s.
Meanwhile, 1500-metre gold medal hope Josh Kerr eased through his heat as he prepares to stare down a packed field that includes his rival, Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
Asher-Smith is hoping these Olympics will go better than last time. She failed to qualify for the women's 100-metre final in Tokyo amid a hamstring injury in the build up to the Games.
"I just feel ready. To be at the Games is amazing," Asher-Smith said. "It's always so much fun to be in this environment.
"It would mean so much. That's what I am here for. I am in good enough shape to do that. So that's going to be my focus for tomorrow."
It means she is still bidding for her first individual Olympic sprinting medal at her third attempt after leaving both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 with bronze 4x100m relay medals.
Neita said she felt the backing of the British fans as the opening day of track and field events began in earnest.
"It felt amazing to be out there, such amazing support from the British crowd here at this championships and yeah first round done. For me it's about staying composed and executing rounds race by race," she said.
"I'm pretty happy with that -- I'm sure my coach will be too. I was off to a good start, I just stayed composed and trusted myself.
"I think for me that's what this championships is about -- believing in myself and trusting I know I can do what I can do, staying composed and enjoying myself."
In her bid for a medal, Asher-Smith relocated to Houston, Texas late last year to train under highly rated sprint coach Edrick "Flo" Floréal after her longtime former coach, John Blackie, said he was not physically able to continue in the role due to mobility issues.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the Games, Asher-Smith credited the move with changing her mindset.
"If you were to say 'I want to go to the moon', they would be like, 'how can I help you do that?' It is mind blowing to me," she said.
"But I think I've really flourished in that environment because I am like, 'you know what? I'm not talking about the moon, but it's like, let's chase this goal, let's go.'"