Sprinter Kim Kuk-young has become the first South Korean to reach the semifinals in the men's 100-meter dash at the world championships.

Competing in the heats of the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London Friday, the 26-year-old finished his 100-meter heat in 10-point-24 seconds. He ranked third in Heat 5 after American Justin Gatlin and Andrew Fisher of Bahrain. He tied for 24th overall to advance into Saturday's semifinals.

The top three runners of each heat automatically make it to the semifinals while the six best scorers of the remaining athletes also advance.  

Kim will run against Aska Cambridge of Japan and China's Xie Zhenye in the semifinals at London Stadium beginning at 3:05 a.m. Sunday Korea time.