With an automatic qualifying height of 2.30, it took only 2.27 to whittle the field down to a manageable nine for tomorrow's final.
Four jumpers advanced with clean records - overwhelming favourite Stefan Holm of Sweden who is aiming for his third world indoor title, double world junior medallist Germaine Mason of Jamaica, reigning European champion Yaroslav Rybakov of Russia, and Romania's Stefan Vasilache.
The man expected to be Holm's prime rival for the crown, 19-year-old Jaroslav Baba of the Czech Republic, had a momentary lapse at 2.20, but rebounded to move forward, as did Birmingham bronze medallist Gennadiy Moroz of Belarus with the same record.
The road to the final taken by American Jamie Nieto was somewhat bumpier. The US indoor and outdoor champion failed on his first attempt at 2.24, and passed to 2.27, which he negotiated successfully on his final attempt. Also extending their seasons at the last possible moment were the Lisbon silver medallist Andriy Sokolovskyy and one of the year's biggest surprises, the bandana-topped Adrian O'Dwyer of Ireland.
Most notable among the non-qualifiers was the Sydney gold medallist, Sergey Klyugin of Russia, whose return to the top after two post-Olympic knee operations appears to be somewhat incomplete as he could only clear 2.24. Additionally, a pair of 2.31 jumpers this year--Finland's Oksari Frosen and Rozle Prezelj of Slovenia--stalled out at 2.24.
Just like the horizontal jumpers who competed earlier in the day, the high jumpers were virtually unanimous in their discovery of the infield surface's lightning speed. After a few adjustments in their runs, the nine finalists should produce a memorable final on Saturday.
