It was the perfect tonic start for the Irish, with the two Wicklow runners showing real courage to run inspired races against strong opposition.

Only once before have two Irish athletes qualified for the same final in these championships, underlining the magnitude of their achievement. Their achievement is even more unique considering that the runners are from the same Sli Chualann club in Wicklow, with locals back home likely to be glued to their television sets for tomorrow's race for the medals.

McGettigan was always considered to be in with a good chance of qualifying for the final as she was ranked 10th in the world with her 9:28.29 Irish record. It's to her credit that she produced when the chips were down.

The 27 year old led virtually throughout in the first of the three heats before finishing a comfortable fourth. In the process, she claimed the last of the automatic qualifying places from the field of 18.

Her time was 9 minutes 39.41 seconds, excellent under the circumstances.

McGettigan could afford to ease back along the finishing straight and finished within a stride or two of the second and third placed runners, including the fast Russian, Tatyana Petrova, while the Kenyan Eunice Jepkorir skipped away to victory in 9:32.27.

That courageous piece of running by McGettigan served to inspire the 22 year old Britton and while she never led in her heat, she was always on the fringes of the leaders. A great sprint at the end resulted in a seventhplaced finish in 9:42.38, just one second outside her personal best.

That time got her through as the last of the three fastest losers, pushing out the two British runners, Hatti Dean and Helen Clitheroe, as well at two Ethiopians, two Japanese and all three Chinese.

Britton was involved in a great scrap for sixth place with Mandea Hyman, the Jamaican record holder, and the pair pushed each other all the way down the finishing straight.

Britton has shown her calibre in previous championship races, taking the silver medal in the Under 23 event at the 2006 European CrossCountry Championships. She also ran outstandingly well to finish 14th in the World Cross-Country Championships in the heat and humidity of Mombasa last March.

Her rearguard battle yesterday came as no surprise given her fighting qualities.

Indeed, for McGettigan to run so well in an early-morning race in warm and humid conditions made up for her disappointments in major events in the past.

She had failed to run anything up to her potential at either the Europeans in Gothenburg last year or at the World Championships two years ago. She was also eliminated in the heats at the World and European indoors.

Yesterday was set to be a crucial day in the career of the Providence College graduate and she answered the call. "I was determined to get it right in the championships here for both myself and my coach" said a very happy and McGettigan afterwards.

"I know I can do it and my times show that. I'm in the top 10 in the world and now to make this final is worth all the effort I've been putting over the last year. I took the lead as I feel comfortable being in front as well as staying out of any trouble back in the pack. "All my training prior to coming here indicated I was stronger than ever before and I had planned everything for here going back to last summer."

What was particularly impressive about McGettigan's running was that she was determined not to give up her inside berth all the way around, even when challenged by Dean and later by Petrova.

The fastest qualifying time was turned by winner of the third head, Cristina Casandra of Romania, in 9:29.32 and she will take a lot of beating in the race for the gold medal.

McGettigan still has realistic ambitions to finish in the top six, which would be a super effort.

Back in '87 both Frank O'Mara (9th) and John Treacy (13th) qualified for the final of the 5,000 m in Rome.