Lisa Dobriskey belatedly makes her Olympic debut on Thursday when she lines-up for the semi-finals of the women’s 1,500m in the Bird’s Nest Stadium.

The 24-year-old Ashford AC member was due to run in the heats earlier this week but those were scrapped owing to there not being enough competitors.

Dobriskey has been tipped as a medal contender by Athens double-gold medallist Kelly Holmes, and her cause has been helped by the expulsion of Russian duo Tatyana Tomashov and Yelena Soboleva for alleged tampering of drug samples.

Tomashova has twice won the world 1,500m title while Soboleva is a former world indoor champion at the same distance.

Dobriskey, who won gold over 1,500m in the 2006 Commonwealth Games, is due to race at midday BST with the final scheduled for 12.50pm on Saturday.

Lining-up alongside her in the semis will be Team GB team-mates Susan Scott and Stephanie Twell.