Drama struck in heat three of the first round of the women's 1500m, resulting in a disqualification.

With less than 50 meters to go, a hard-charging Cory McGee got physical with Shannon Osika, who was hugging the lane rail and hanging onto third as Jenny Simpson and Elise Cranny took up the outside lanes, boxing McGee in.

The infraction occurred when McGee made contact with Osika as it looked like she decided she didn't have enough time to swing wide around Simpson and Cranny, and instead tried to find enough room to pass her on the inside and claim the final automatic-qualifying spot. Using an arm, McGee jostled past Osika to finish third, just ahead of Osika.

Later, the officials concluded the contact impeded Osika's progress, which landed Osika in the semifinal and disqualified McGee. The violated USATF Rule, 163.4, reads as follows:

"Any competitor or participant jostling, running across, or obstructing another competitor or participant so as to impede his or her progress shall be liable to disqualification in that event. ... Regardless of whether there has been a disqualification, the Referee, in exceptional circumstances, shall also have the authority to advance a competitor seriously affected by jostling or obstruction or to order the race to be re-held if it is just and reasonable to do so."

Osika's coach, Mike McGuire, said he went to the protest area with the intent to file a request, but ultimately didn't have to, as the officials had already flagged the contact for review. 

"The slower the race, the more chances contact's gonna happen... I know what my athlete did, and my athlete was coming off the last turn and assumed a linear path to the finish line and didn't move anybody else outside her, so she didn't move Jenny Simpson, or Elise [Cranny], out wide; she was just running a linear path to the finish line along those people, and there was a situation where there wasn't room to pass," McGuire said. "I think it's pretty self-explanatory if you've seen the film of the race... I think it's a classic case of impeding. What I saw, I think, is what a lot of other people saw; what I saw wasn't the deciding factor on the situation at hand."

In a slow, tactical race, Osika qualified through to the final alongside Simpson and Cranny from heat two in a time of 4:20.93—a far cry from her 4:06.17 PR, but she closed her last lap in 60.86. The 26-year-old Michigan alum will search for her first world team spot amid a stacked field on Saturday.

"She led all but the last 60 meters of that race; [laughs] it wasn't the plan to lead, I can tell you that! It just kind of happened, and I thought she did a heck of a job. She's part of a very talented final going into Saturday."

Here are the updated round one qualifiers: