Men’s 110m hurdles final
The first three of each heat and the four fastest losers qualify for tomorrow’s semi finals.
In the first of four heats, USA’s Kenneth Ferguson had the best of starts and eased through to the line in 14.04. In lane one, Bahamas’ Shamar Sands ran at his highest levels and clocked 14.18, only 0.03 off his personal best. Assured of finishing second the Bahamian jogged to the line after clearing the tenth and last hurdle. Croatia’s Jurica Grabusic ran a different race and speeded all the way to the tape to grab the remaining qualifying spot in 14.20.
Asia Junior Champion and the fastest of all the competitors here in Kingston, Dongpeng Shi of China eased through to the finish in 14.54.
The battle for the two remaining qualifying spots was tough, three men being timed in 14.90. France’s Cedric Beyera who was cruising to finish second heavily hit the last barrier and was passed on the line by Hungary’s Istvan Kasper and Japan’s Yusuke Akiyama who both advance to next round.
The mistake meant the French athlete didn’t qualify, all three other heats being faster. Cuba’s Jesus Costa whose personal best of 14.01 would have made him an easy qualifier heavily hit the first barrier and fell to the floor. After lying down for several minutes, he was carried away by the medical staff.
The second American in this event, Antwon Hicks ran a faultless race in heat three. Not touching a single obstacle, Hicks crossed the finish line in 14.01 the fastest time of the heats. Running with a massive 3.5m/s head wind, Hicks had a 32 hundreths margin on second finisher Jamaica’s Richard Phillips. The third qualifying spot was claimed by Qatar’s Nassim Mezyan Brahimi with 14.36. Petr Svoboda who hit several hurdles gradually lost his rhythm and was forced to withdraw between hurdle 6 and 7.
In heat four, Brazil’s Thiago Jacinto Dias had an easy run as he crossed the tape in 14.10 well clear of his rivals. A very disappointed Dias was seen earlier in the week as he didn’t qualify for the long jump final. The fight was rude behind the Brazilian where Andreas Kundert of Switzerland (14.44) and Stefan Wieser of Germany (14.51) were the other automatic qualifiers. Finishing fifth and sixth Stanislav Sajdok (CZE) and Lukas Lanthaler (ITA) both advanced to the semi finals as fastest losers.
The two remaining spots for next round were both claimed in heat 1 by Mohamed Al-Othman and Ryan Purcell (AUS).
All heats were run into a head wind.
