SEMI-FINAL. Straight final. Semi-final. Straight final. Yesterday's 100 metres events at the Bishan Stadium sure were confusing for athletes and media alike.

The boys and girls' 100m semi-finals were slated for 6.35pm and 6.55pm respectively, 1-1/2 hours after the heats. But they were not held at all.

Eight finalists were selected straight from the heats, making it a one-step qualifying process instead of two.

Late last night, the Games' official website still had the semi-finals on schedule.

Singapore sprinter Liang Wei and teammate Sharir Anuar both said the changes were disruptive to their warm-up, as the planning and mindset for running a heat versus a semi-final is different.

Said Sharir, who won his heat: 'Usually, we take it easy for the heats and go all out in the semi-finals.'

But the confusion affected Liang Wei badly. She was fourth in her heat and failed to make the final.

She said: 'We were told about the change only at about 3pm, just before we warmed up. It was quite confusing.'